Comment ID #266643

Comment ID #266644

just a warning. First person to say he’s being a wuss or he’s being overdramatic i’m going to light the hell up. He’s absolutely right. His “friends” have always prioritized Lucy’s well being over Mike’s

buchanen_neketNovember 20, 2013, 1:04 PM EST.

Comment ID #266645

Daisy always loved you mike as well as lucy.

Blue foxNovember 20, 2013, 1:04 PM EST.

Comment ID #266646

@ Any of you who think that he’s wrong:

You obviously have no idea what real friends are.

Edit: Daisy MIGHT be the exception.

YishaNovember 20, 2013, 1:04 PM EST.

Comment ID #266647

I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS

THANK YOU

SHUT UP MIKE HATERS

MariasonaNovember 20, 2013, 1:05 PM EST.

Comment ID #266648

Really?! That’s how the situations gonna get handled?! …REALLY!!??

B-DawgNovember 20, 2013, 1:05 PM EST.

Comment ID #266649

I pretty much agree with you @buchanen_neket but I would not set any one on fire though

Jonas97faceNovember 20, 2013, 1:05 PM EST.

Comment ID #266650

i would love to see a version of this comic where Lucy and Mike’s genders were reversed.
I bet the comments would be so different.
I agree with Mike completely - they all sat by and let her abuse him, let her destroy their relationship slowly.
they treated her like the commenters - a perfect special snowflake who got away with EVERYTHING.

sighNovember 20, 2013, 1:06 PM EST.

Comment ID #266651

Goddamit Mike. You don’t know just HOW much I just wanna hit you in the face in place of Paulo. You’re seriously being immature about this situation. Sure you’re drunk but COME ON!!! That’s just….ARRRRGGGHHH!!!!

And Daisy, PLEASE don’t do what I think you’re gonna do!

TwiggyNovember 20, 2013, 1:06 PM EST.

Comment ID #266652

@ buchanen_neket - No, he’s not absolutely right. I don’t have time to provide cited examples right now (I will later if someone else doesn’t beat me to it) but the only possible way you can take his little rant here as an accurate assessment of how he is treated is if you accept his version of everything without a critical eye.

MiscKittyNovember 20, 2013, 1:07 PM EST.

Comment ID #266653

It true that the blame shouldn’t ONLY be placed on Mike.. It was Lucy’s fault for pushing HIM away and it’s not Sandys fault either. I never liked her but read more and more of the comic I’ve started to understand. He’s happy with Sandy. And it’s not helping the situation with Paulo sleeping around either. I feel bad for mike now and I’m glad Daisy did what she did.

I just hope mike doesn’t snap at her now..

Dat PauloNovember 20, 2013, 1:07 PM EST.

Comment ID #266654

Ok so he wasn’t talkin about Paulo he was talking about himself, I wonder what Abbey’s gonna think/feel about Daisy now? And he is right wonder how this is gonna go down or if he’s going to even remember it?

Samm-yNovember 20, 2013, 1:07 PM EST.

Comment ID #266655

oh god please let this be a platonic hug.
Not in front of Abbey, not after everything you’ve been through Daisy

sighNovember 20, 2013, 1:07 PM EST.

Comment ID #266656

Mike just described the comments perfectly.

TheLazyCharmanderNovember 20, 2013, 1:08 PM EST.

Comment ID #266657

I now like Daisy, that was a bold move. Small but powerful, a hug can mean a lot of things.

KitmitNovember 20, 2013, 1:08 PM EST.

Comment ID #266658

And he was doing so well, being big and owning up to what he said and all. You can do it, Daisy, bring him back down.

jhornb02November 20, 2013, 1:09 PM EST.

Comment ID #266659

@Yisha
No. Friends do not say “Oh I know you’re upset so it’s okay that you went PSYCHOTICALLY over the top.”

If they do, they’re seriously bad friends.
The extremes to which he took it were not okay.
Yes, they did have some bad moments when they pushed or teased him a little too hard, but for the most part they haven’t really done anything wrong. The only one who we actually saw attack him was Paulo, and they were all trying to pull him off.
I think their reaction was probably more along the lines of understanding but telling him that was way too over the top. That is not a bad friend, that is an honest friend… and you need to remember that they’re torn because Lucy is their friend as well.

I did not get from any portion of the last two pages that they were trying to guilt him during his story. ( except Paulo, because it’s Paulo, but they hardly look like they’re cheering Paulo on. )

-.-November 20, 2013, 1:09 PM EST.

Comment ID #266660

I think Mike has been reading the comment pages. Also, he does have a point, although he then took it in the wrong direction. He’s zoning himself from the ‘friends’ he told Lucy would follow him, not her, then turns around and says they aren’t being his friends either. You know, the same group that haven’t seemed to notice Lucy’s depression until she started missing school.

Also, good job Daisy, show the drunk idiot he’s being a drunk idiot. And don’t you dare intervene Abby.

VenorikNovember 20, 2013, 1:10 PM EST.

Comment ID #266661

this is such ******** considering all the girls in the group have a crush on mike

gUGHNovember 20, 2013, 1:10 PM EST.

Comment ID #266662

TheLazyCharmander,

Hahaha, yeah I kind of got that impression as well. That his speech could easily be redirected at the mike haters.

Also @the comment page, I should make a correction, with the exception of Daisy, he’s right about his assessment of his friends. I mean really OUTSIDE OF DAISY, has any of them been there for him. Has any of them supported him or his relationship? No, they antagonized him constantly, hell he’s had to be there for them more than anything.

buchanen_neketNovember 20, 2013, 1:11 PM EST.

Comment ID #266663

@Yisha Saying that none of us know what “real friends are” is a bit over zealous.

There’s a fine line between telling someone that they’re a parasite, and expecting people to instantly agree with you, than to try and explain to someone that they need serious help with who they are, and getting help from their friends to help said person out.

It’s obvious Lucy had her own issues. She was trying hard in December to be happy for Mike, though she went about it the wrong way. She abused him as a friend for far too long and lost her chance with him.

Mike treated her so harshly out of spite, and then tried to turn her “friends” against her, at least plant that seed of doubt in her mind. Instead of handling Lucy rationally, he just got fed up with her and took matters into his own hands instead of talking to others about the obvious problems he had with her.

Mike hasn’t been a good friend to anyone else as of late, the others haven’t had a clue until now just how horrible Mike feels about Lucy. But even through all of this, Daisy has always been the one to try and fix situations, to hold things together - though, if she’s doing this out of her love obsession with Mike at this point, or just trying to smooth things over, we won’t know until the next few pages.

SomeoneNovember 20, 2013, 1:11 PM EST.

Comment ID #266664

oh, Daisy…you Little angel

LexeazNovember 20, 2013, 1:12 PM EST.

Comment ID #266665

One more quick comment before I have to go do other stuff: Mike is gaslighting his friends here just like he gaslighted Lucy in December. And just in case any of you don’t know what that term means:

“Gaslighting is a form of mental abuse in which false information is presented with the intent of making a victim doubt his or her own memory, perception and sanity.”

MiscKittyNovember 20, 2013, 1:12 PM EST.

Comment ID #266666

@Venoric Mike thought at the time that they were his friends, but it seems he’s changed his mind a little since Lucy left and they’ve all been lamenting her.

jhornb02November 20, 2013, 1:13 PM EST.

Comment ID #266667

@Someone
This. Thank-you very much, that was perfectly put. ^^

-.-November 20, 2013, 1:13 PM EST.

Comment ID #266668

Reflecting back, he’s got some points there.

Maybe it’s because of the gender roles in this case, but I think his friends may thought Mike would shake off some of the arguments between him and Lucy because that’s what guys would usually do. They don’t know that guys can get as much hurt as girls do, but it’s somehow the male’s “duty” to act tough and not let anything get to them. And now after hearing the confession, they go straight to Lucy assuming she’s the victim in this, but don’t consider what Mike had gone through and not giving him the chance to speak for himself until now.

This is just what I think though. I could be completely wrong in this, and I’m not taking any sides. Arguments are welcome, but please be critical about this.

DudelerNovember 20, 2013, 1:13 PM EST.

Comment ID #266669

He has a point. Yes, he could have let her down a lot more easy then he did, hell, even have tried to explain how he felt. then again she kind of beat the **** of him and he would walk around like bruised punching bag.

neither of them are in the right, lucy could not see that what she was doing was hurting the person she cared about, and mike is in the wrong because of how he reacted to it.

now mike is at least standing up for himself, tho, again a little late. what they ALL need to do is SOBER UP, and THEN talk about it and get into a fight.

Comment ID #266671

Mike is such a *****. Whaaaa a girl is beating me up Whaaaa nobody likes me even though I’m a chick magnate Whaaaa my life is so ****ing hard. Mike needs to grow a pair of nuts!

Blue foxNovember 20, 2013, 1:15 PM EST.

Comment ID #266672

@jhornb02 you know exactly what’s up.

“You’re all terrible friends”

Pretty sure back in December he informed Lucy that all of these “terrible friends” would side with him. Lo’ and behold, not all of them did, and now he’s berating them and shoving it back in their faces like they’ve never been there for him.

SomeoneNovember 20, 2013, 1:17 PM EST.

Comment ID #266673

abbey is gonna beat ur *** up, but its ok, you get a hug, everybody love hugs

MimiChanNovember 20, 2013, 1:17 PM EST.

Comment ID #266674

Didn’t Mike ignore them most of the with his obsession with Sandy?

Who_know_oneNovember 20, 2013, 1:19 PM EST.

Comment ID #266675

Okay. A lot of you are right. They have been really crappy friends to him…

But at the same time? He brought it on himself. I don’t mean with Lucy exclusively. Way back when he started dating Sandy, he began to distance himself from the others with his behaviors and actions. He may say its always been about Lucy, but seriously, when he confronted her, he used his friends like a shield, like they’d always be there for him and not her.

And when they aren’t? Well, I guess its time to throw a bitch fit.

SkullJesterNovember 20, 2013, 1:19 PM EST.

Comment ID #266676

How about Daisy who always loved Mike and told him Lucy is not a good friend and that it is not okay for her to always bully him in one of the VERY FIRST CHAPTERS. But no, Mike always turned her down saying she doesn’t understand anything and that Lucy is his best friend. I can understand why he would say that about everyone else because they all never really gave a **** about it, but Daisy? Of course she would just give up trying to help Mike if he yelled at her every time she tried to convince him that Lucy is a bad friend.

StyNovember 20, 2013, 1:20 PM EST.

Comment ID #266677

Sounds like my life from 1st to 8th grade.

Most importantly, it sounds like the argument for all those who didn’t like how the story centered around Lucy.

Mike, you panel hog!

HawzNovember 20, 2013, 1:21 PM EST.

Comment ID #266678

Okay, everyone getting all zealous about this - you should know who you are - please back up, take a breath, and remember it’s a work of fiction? I mean I like the basic debate, but damn some of you are taking it to heart. Deep breaths, people!

MysterionNovember 20, 2013, 1:21 PM EST.

Comment ID #266679

So I’m wondering if this will end up as Mike had predicted. Daisy will follow him, with Abbey of course, so on and etcetera.

ChristineNovember 20, 2013, 1:21 PM EST.

Comment ID #266680

Oh PLEASE.

VizzumsNovember 20, 2013, 1:21 PM EST.

Comment ID #266681

Ah! I can’t wait for the next update! I don’t want this to ever end~

Discord55November 20, 2013, 1:22 PM EST.

Comment ID #266682

Jesus Mike, you have never been so wrong. What happened to the thought that all your friends would be there when you left Lucy? My guess is that he’s assuming everyone knew what was REALLY going on between him and Lucy, thinking that they should know and shame on them for not knowing in order to be able to stand up for him because he never thought he had a reason to do it himself until his girlfriend told him. Other than Lucy and Paulo once in a while, I can’t think of any abuse he’s put up with from his friends. If I’m wrong than tell me, educate me, CONVINCE me that he’s not just having a drunken PMS moment, or lying to their faces to guilt trip them and instantly make them feel sorry for him. I really want to know because that would make it all a little less dramatic. And the worst part is, since losing another friend is an possibilty here, their sudden “guilt” probably going to make them take his side, once again without knowing the whole story.

TBlackfeetNovember 20, 2013, 1:22 PM EST.

Comment ID #266683

@Mysterion you are asking the impossible of many people here.

StyNovember 20, 2013, 1:23 PM EST.

Comment ID #266684

Ohhhh, for this benevolent bounty that has been received, thank you forces of the universe.

@Blue fox,

That is such crap! Guys can get hurt just as easily as girls by abuse, by being ignored, by emotional pain. The difference is that society dictates that guys can’t be that way so they have to bite their tongue and hide it. They have to choke back tears, they have to let it fester inside of them till something pushes them too far and it comes out. That something as you see here is usually alcohol which is, again by society, the only time it’s permissible for a guy to let these things come out.

So don’t give me that crap, Mike was in pain and his so called friends, with the exception of Daisy, weren’t really there for him. They paid more attention to lucy and when he showed any sort of sign he was in pain he got antagonized (usually by Paulo).

buchanen_neketNovember 20, 2013, 1:24 PM EST.

Comment ID #266685

Comment ID #266686

**** you Mike! You deserve every little bit of hate you get! Ugh! Start acting like a man and less like a kid. You were a complete *** to Lucy! She ****ing loved you and you act like a piece of **** to her! All she wanted was for you to like her back! But because she has a hard time expressing how she feels doesn’t give you the right to treat her like ****. I’m so tired of your pansy “**** Lucy for being an emotional wreck! I’m Mike and everyone has to ****ing love me and agree with everything I do because I’m a ****ing God!” Jesus! I’m done!

AniJayNovember 20, 2013, 1:24 PM EST.

Comment ID #266687

I feel like Abbey might flip **** over this, and I’m not sure why.

There’s nothing else I can really say to this situation. I’m just basically sighing/face-palming at Mike. He tends to do that to me and again I don’t really know why.

LucyanneNovember 20, 2013, 1:25 PM EST.

Comment ID #266688

Man, Daisy is just going to cheer him up, it’s nothing like she kissed him or anything, after all, she is with Abbey now, although she still likes Mike a lot. She is just doing what a friend should do.
And, well, it’s not like someone isn’t “guilty” there, it all is just a consequence of everyone’s actions and not just Mike’s or Paulo’s actions, it’s not “someone’s fault”, it’s just how life works.
And about the way Mike treated Lucy before… Well, he was sad and angry too, some people don’t have control and end up being rude or “bad” with others in situations like this… And end up regreting it all in the end.

Every character is so full of feelings, I love love love this webcomic. ~

(sorry for any grammar error, English is not my native language, but I read this comic for a long time and, well, I had to comment at least once ;u;)

dokidurrNovember 20, 2013, 1:25 PM EST.

Comment ID #266689

everyone (dehm drunk cats and dogs, and yes, you comment section) needs to chill the **** out and have a sandwich.

WhistleblowerNovember 20, 2013, 1:26 PM EST.

Comment ID #266690

I cannot express my happiness with words

Mike, I’m proud of you
and I feel for you

YOU GO LITTLE GREY CAT

MilkfruitNovember 20, 2013, 1:26 PM EST.

Comment ID #266691

@TBlackfeet Oh but it SHOULD be dramatic, that’s what Mike’s whole outburst is about. He was convinced in December that they were HIS friends, not Lucy’s, and ever since she disappeared they’ve done nothing but talk sweet about her and wish she were around, especially Paulo. With that delusion that he used as an argument against Lucy being shattered, he has even more to feel bad about because he doesn’t have the support of the people he thought were his friends.

…and then Daisy comes in with a hug, so I don’t know where it’s going from here…

jhornb02November 20, 2013, 1:26 PM EST.

Comment ID #266692

THANK YOU TAESHI.

Been waiting for this since everyone got on his case for not accepting Lucy’s love WHEN HE IS ALREADY IN A RELATIONSHIP.

DeeNovember 20, 2013, 1:26 PM EST.

Comment ID #266693

Well, he’s not wrong. Way back she was consistently abusive and a master of the mixed message, and I quite clearly remember Paolo sicking an angry mob on mike for baseless allegations of “cheating” in particular.

That doesn’t justify what he did over the last few chapters, though. He’s still an *******. But there are a number of reasons that he ended up that way. And he isn’t the only *******.

As for Daisy, this is probably going to get messy.

MGlBlazeNovember 20, 2013, 1:28 PM EST.

Comment ID #266694

I would like a sandwich @Whistleblower

Jonas97faceNovember 20, 2013, 1:28 PM EST.

Comment ID #266695

Guys he’s drunk

LiustNovember 20, 2013, 1:29 PM EST.

Comment ID #266696

@TBlackfeet that’s what i think as well. For years he never had a problem with his friendship with Lucy and turned down and yelled at Daisy multiple times because she said Lucy is a bad friend. Now that he suddenly has a problem with Lucy he expects everyone to notice that, jump up and help him with what he convinced his friends some time ago was all normal and good and that no one else understands Lucy. They didn’t even realize he suddenly had a problem with Lucy’s behavior.

StyNovember 20, 2013, 1:29 PM EST.

Comment ID #266697

and thats why i actualy liked that lucy left the comic , it was always about her and i think she is one of the weaker chacters , storys around her were usualy interesting because of how her drama afected everyone elses life , specialy mikes.
He in on the other side is a a chacter that had more chance to grow in my opinion.
Also i like how your comic isnt about anyone character taeshi.

DrackeStalenTorgenNovember 20, 2013, 1:30 PM EST.

Comment ID #266698

Also, what about that time when they all took turns trying to protect Mike when he got drunk?
they could have just left him if they didn’t really care. Especially once they’re apparent goddess Lucy was nearly raped.

Mike shut himself off in his own little world after he and Sandy started dating…
and every time they teased or pushed, rather than trying to discuss it with them he just threw the table and blew up. Always angry, always otherwise in his own little world.. What were they supposed to do?

Aside form that one blip when they were pushing and teasing him, I haven’t actually seen them “favor” her over him…
and in fairness to them, Mike never really tried to discuss the issue with them.

-.-November 20, 2013, 1:30 PM EST.

Comment ID #266699

****ing cry me a river bitch

Chuck U_UNovember 20, 2013, 1:30 PM EST.

Comment ID #266700

@AniJay Yeah, to hell with Mike, how dare he reject someone else’s affections while he is already in a relationship with someone else. Also the only chapters that matter are the last few. The earlier chapters where Lucy was a clingy abusive jerk to Mike, no, those never happened, what are you talking about.

The situation is a lot more complicated than you seem to think it is.

MGlBlazeNovember 20, 2013, 1:31 PM EST.

Comment ID #266701

@AniJay: Has the fact that Lucy was a complete *** to Mike and abused him all those completely slipped your mind? Has the fact that their friends accept anything Lucy does to Mike, but oppose anything Mike does to Lucy slipped your mind as well? Yes, Mike was harsh, and maybe all the things he said were out of line, but his argument is still justified.

@buchanen_neket Completely agree with you

$adiqNovember 20, 2013, 1:31 PM EST.

Comment ID #266702

Since i talked the mike/paulo perspective to death yesterday, id like to focus on the repercussions of Daisy’s actions.

This turn of events is sure to leave Abbey in a tizzy. Even if she spouts off a bunch of just-a-friend words, Abbey’s insecurities will still make him over think it considering the history Mike and Daisy have. I do not see it ending well.

And if she does say something more pressing, then the case is even more extreme. I guess it is all up to daisy to settle down this mess.

MobileCrusaderNovember 20, 2013, 1:31 PM EST.

Comment ID #266703

Don’t know how much more I can take!>.< this comic is a heart jerker! I anticipate this everyday, so maybe it’s time to take a break and come back and hope for the best!!!

VanceNovember 20, 2013, 1:32 PM EST.

Comment ID #266704

@AniJay Your comment is exactly the type of idiocy that infuriates me. There’s a difference between not being able to express your love and punching and beating the **** out of someone on a regular basis, using their clothes to wipe your nose on them and taking advantage of their sensitive hearing. Oh but Lucy’s a girl who had no friends, so its ok she does that, right? I mean, Mike’s a guy. Not like guys can actually get hurt or tired and ****** off by being treated like that, right? He should just take that **** because she loved him, right?

DeeNovember 20, 2013, 1:32 PM EST.

Comment ID #266705

Mike has been an unreliable narrator, but I think that is more of a disfunctional trait of his. Being wishy-washy like this. Kinda interesting to see him in this perspective though, it makes every life choice he has done an odd mix of what he feels is justifying problems he feels is being inflicted on him (the problems he feels is being inflicted on him are both actual, and sometimes not actual though an example escapes me at the moment.), and not entirely dealing with issues that he caused that come back to bite him. This really is thrown into an extreme corner however since we are dealing with serious issues here, (Mike being bullied for a good portion of his life by lucy, and Mike causing Lucy to enter depression, and nearly commit suicide.) To justify either Mike or Lucy in this is a very hard, and yet tempting thing to do. I would honestly just show that this is an example of a friendship not working more than anything.

WakawakaNovember 20, 2013, 1:33 PM EST.

Comment ID #266706

Yep, the more I see, the more sure I am. Whether through taking different sides or by Daisy doing something stupid with Mike, this is not going to end well for Daisy and Abbey.

ZottNovember 20, 2013, 1:35 PM EST.

Comment ID #266707

Aww, Daisy is such an angel !

buchanen_neket is awesome

TiidoNovember 20, 2013, 1:35 PM EST.

Comment ID #266708

I am very glad this page happened, Mike needed to say what he did. Whether he is right or not, this is how he feels… and to him, they have all be terrible friends to him, abusing him, never taking his side, etc. Except of course for Daisy. I an really hoping she has matured and at this point is just supporting him and not going further than that…

As for all the people who are yelling at Mike, saying he should just take all his abuse like a man… you do realize men get abused to. We have emotions that can get torn to shreds just as easy as women. Just because you sympathize with Lucy doesn’t mean you should just ignore what happens to Mike… In fact you don’t do that. For anything that happens to Lucy, if it happens to Mike you just cry “TAKE IT LIKE A MAN.” It’s really interesting to see how all of you think…

HerumphNovember 20, 2013, 1:37 PM EST.

Comment ID #266709

@jhornb02
I’m not disagreeing with what you’re saying for the most part, but Mike is acting on the fact that he assumes his friends know or should have known about all of this, even though he tried to keep it hidden.

TBlackfeetNovember 20, 2013, 1:37 PM EST.

Comment ID #266710

Sorry Michael haters but he’s sorta right.
He has flaws, but heck give him some slack. If Michael stands his ground, everyone pushes him down again. He was sick to be passive.
Personally….I was wondering what sort of friendship he had with them, cuz it was almost taken by granted. Cuz Lucy. Except Daisy but that’s a thing called crush. Perhaps that’s the closest thing he got as friendship in that group. Maybe Susan as well but…..I had my doubts. She was standing for Lucy too.
Ya know, yeah, I blame him for acting the wrongest way to Lucy but she had to be fully aware what she had done for YEARS and he had the right to defend himself. He was abused from her and everyone else. Paulo can be this and that but he’s no better than Lucy was right now. Look at him, resorting in violence too easily. He needs his work too, and to be blunt, more urgently than Michael. Before someone gets hurt for real.
Well…I think this development without Lucy was really, really needed. Otherwise….how will they mature?
Michael was been an *******. But same for Paulo.

Knux-the-KillerNovember 20, 2013, 1:37 PM EST.

Comment ID #266711

I like how Mike is expressing my feelings here as well.

Everyone is judging Mike so hard, even the viewers, nobody has taken a step back to look at things from his perspective, it’s not like he’s perfectly happy.

And yet it’s always been about Lucy and his interaction with her, never from his side.

DelusionalNovember 20, 2013, 1:39 PM EST.

Comment ID #266712

aaawww daisy

robynNovember 20, 2013, 1:40 PM EST.

Comment ID #266713

On a second note, Daisy is just about wonderful.

HerumphNovember 20, 2013, 1:41 PM EST.

Comment ID #266714

Is Amaya drunk? I can’t tell.

$adiqNovember 20, 2013, 1:42 PM EST.

Comment ID #266715

As ive thought about it more and more these past few days, i find myself empathizing with Mike more and More.

MobileCrusaderNovember 20, 2013, 1:43 PM EST.

Comment ID #266716

@Someone I unfortunately have dated someone who PMS’s that much and breaking up with him he answered with “Well you can’t talk to me for three weeks, go away”

MikeNovember 20, 2013, 1:44 PM EST.

Comment ID #266717

Wow, love this page. Panel 5 especially, with taeshi emphasizing specific words. But this whole chapters been really powerful. From what they say, what they do, down to their expressions. But with this page I can see the falling action coming. Probably daisy will start off everyone understanding his feelings, and accepting what happened, questions being, will abbey take this hug to jealousy, and will daisy’s actions allow Paulo to understand mike too?

I can understand how mike feels entirely, and although its easy for some people to say, as I see here, how mike should have talked about things earlier, or he was still too harsh. Yeah, he could have, and he would have, if he was not so victimized and hurt. you can clearly see through what he says, how all those things in the past has left a horrible imprint on him that pains him. meanwhile, lucy could have not done that stuff at all, but cus of how she was judged as a kid, and more so, because of her ignorance of how bad her actions were, she didn’t.

In the end, none of the characters were bad, or real ********, its just miscommunication, and torn up emotions, and ignorance, that caused these issues. Daisy seems to get the picture here

SleepingfoxNovember 20, 2013, 1:45 PM EST.

Comment ID #266718

I’ve always wondered, if Mike was really so unhappy with how he was treated….(and not just for the sake of this being a fictional story) why not just leave the group?

Yes people will complain, ‘Oh it’s hard’ or ‘Why should he change?’ But if he believed the relationship with Lucy and everything was so toxic it drove him to say such words in December, why not just put his foot down then with everyone? Not just with Lucy, but explain to everyone how he felt, instead of just yelling and hiding it for so long. Truthfully, it feels that Mike has only felt any sort of guilt after he was ‘caught’ in what he had done.

If he felt so insulted that Lucy was the core of the group, why not…I don’t know…leave the group?

From what I’ve seen, his world seems to revolve around phone calls with Sandy. And any interaction with the core characters drives him insane, why continue the interaction?

Just curious, that’s all.

???November 20, 2013, 1:45 PM EST.

Comment ID #266719

His comment makes it apparently to me that he glossed over alot of stuff. I’m sure calling some one a parrisite and threatening to take away every one the care about is more then avoiding her. Pluss how he reacted when ever she talked to some one else, whinning about how she was just rebounding and getting his panties in a knot, and he was always sure to do it so she would notice. That’s not avoiding either

TghNovember 20, 2013, 1:46 PM EST.

Comment ID #266720

@milkfruit high five

MariasonaNovember 20, 2013, 1:46 PM EST.

Comment ID #266721

Guessing Daisy did this due to her past feelings for Mike, but it could also be a way to try and keep the group together cause I see a split coming and people having to pick sides.

Wonder who will remember this in the morning.

Chrisd765November 20, 2013, 1:46 PM EST.

Comment ID #266722

I’ve been reading the comments for a very, very long time, and I’ve never commented before, but some of these opinions are getting frustrating.

Seriously, can we stop all the Mike hate? I mean, how much does Mike have to do to make up for his **** up? He’s only a teenage boy and Lucy is gone so there’s only so much he can do. I don’t understand what it would possibly take to have him “redeemed” in some of your eyes.

Mike and Lucy are both great characters in their own ways that also both ****ed up in their own ways. Mike does not deserve to be alone for what he did and neither does Lucy. They’re just a couple of teenagers that made some stupid decisions, but who the hell hasn’t? They’re not the monsters that some of you are making them out to be.

It’s honestly just a little disgusting to see that some of you feel Mike deserves to get his *** beat by Paulo, get left all alone, and is automatically a “wuss” or a “*****” for expressing the way he’s been feeling for a long time to his friends, simply because he made Lucy feel that way, when Mike has felt alone the whole time too (Or I guess some of you would rather him hold in how he feels AGAIN, take whatever kinds of abuse his friends would have to offer him, and have a repeat of December). That’s on the same level as saying Lucy deserved to have Mike blow up on her and get catapulted into a depression and then a (what I think is) a suicide attempt.

Mike had every right to cut Lucy off, he just did it wrong. Mike also did not deserve to have Lucy beating on him all the time (I mean, how many of you would honestly hang on to an abusive friend?). Lucy didn’t deserve to have Mike blow up on her like he did. But Mike did have every right to get rid of her.

Both characters ****ed up but also have good and bad attributes. At the end of the day, they’re ultimately good-hearted and good people (cats?). Stop turning Mike into a monster and Lucy into an angel and vice versa.

RibbonNovember 20, 2013, 1:48 PM EST.

Comment ID #266723

I just want to pop my opinion in here, because I don’t truly hate any of the characters in this series. None of them are perfect, all of them make mistakes, but it’s how they deal with the mistakes that make them interesting.

The problem with Mike isn’t that he hates Lucy. The problem is that he handled his hatred incredibly poorly, and now that people are calling him out on it, he’s making himself look like the victim. And that’s not true; he’s A victim, not THE victim. It’s been pretty clear that Lucy is fairly unstable, even before everything went wrong; no one truly right in the head purposely inflicts as much physical pain on someone they love without realizing exactly how much pain they are doing. But instead of attempting to fix their problems rationally, Mike held his anger inside until eventually he became cold, and eventually he blew up on her (The worst part of that history essay scene being that Lucy was working on trying to make things alright and he destroyed her for it).

So Mike made a mistake, and Lucy is suffering internally for it; both are at fault here, Lucy for pushing Mike to this point, and Mike for not actually solving the problem in a reasonable manner. That’s what people have to realize, both the characters inside the story and the people in the comments.

DonTuffsNovember 20, 2013, 1:48 PM EST.

Comment ID #266724

Here’s my take. Yes the others have at times been bad friends, however, he hasn’t always been the best friend to them either. A prime example is the way he treated Daisy. He didn’t notice she was hurting or even seem to care. Also, it’s not as if they were aware of how he was feeling because he NEVER told them. All they saw was Mike, who so far as they knew had no problem with the way Lucy acted, suddenly ignoring her and being a jerk. So he can’t really expect them to support him or be on his side, when they don’t know what his side is or why he is acting that way. Finally, correct me if I’m wrong but when has he ever supported any of them or been there for them. He doesn’t notice when they are sad or hurting anymore than they noticed his pain. I think the big issue here is they are all wrapped up in their own lives and don’t communicate with each other. This is probably largely due to the fact that they are teenagers and thus can be self absorbed. My overall point is he has been no less selfish and uncaring than he is saying they have been. In my opinion this is a pot calling the kettle black situation. Not saying his feelings aren’t valid, just that he has no room to talk when it comes to not being supportive. Also his no one likes me thing is overly dramatic; at the very least Daisy has always been there for him and liked him. Hecj, she practically worshipped the ground he walked on, maybe still does, and he never so much as gave her the time of day and in fact, blew ger off or discounted her feelings more than once.

foxNovember 20, 2013, 1:48 PM EST.

Comment ID #266725

@???

Bonds with people are not easily broken. His distaste for Lucy is one thing, and he may feel alone with the members of the group, but he must have some seed of respect or desire to be friends with them.

MobileCrusaderNovember 20, 2013, 1:49 PM EST.

Comment ID #266726

I want to scare Mike with a Speak and Spell.

HawzNovember 20, 2013, 1:50 PM EST.

Comment ID #266727

@Delusional But how can Mike expect everyone to know that he has been on such bad terms with Lucy for some time now if he never mentions it? I really think Mike has no reason to be angry with everyone here. If he would’ve told everyone that he really had some problems with Lucy, then he has reason enough to be angry but he didn’t. Also: he just turned them down every time they would mention it. Daisy got turned down at a couple of times by Mike because she tried to convince him that Lucy is not treating him nice. Why would they even bother? Lucy has always been like this to Mike and Mike gets angry at everyone who tells him Lucy is not a good friend until he talks with Sandy and then suddenly “none of his friends care about him”? They didn’t notice any difference in Lucy’s behavior so that’s not a reason to expect them to suddenly ask him again if he still likes Lucy or if he needs any help.
I’m not sure if every of his friends would have asked Mike at all but he is definitely not treating Daisy nice here. She always tried to help Mike but eventually gave up.

StyNovember 20, 2013, 1:54 PM EST.

Comment ID #266728

PART of what Mike’s saying is actually true. Even if none of yous will admit it

MimimiNovember 20, 2013, 1:54 PM EST.

Comment ID #266729

Comment ID #266730

YES! They are not real friends! How dare they criticize him! Why can’t they be like his mommy?! Bo-****ing-hoo. Also: as far I’ve seen he only got punched by Paulo. And people tried to stop the fight. BUT SCREW THIS! NOT REAL FRIENDS. Seriously, go cry to your mommy. Oh wait, Daisy is there to comfort you and maybe give you a cheer-up-bj in front of her substitute-boyfriend. Seriously, Daisy, what the ****. I mean Rachel was climbing a wall of dicks most of the time, but it seems she’s not the real ***** in here.

@buchanen_neket
Yes you’re right. A man has every right to act like a *****. Though if he does then he’s a *****. But I guess that’s alright for cat-people. Still Mike is acting like a freaking Primadonna here, and should eat a Snickers bar. Or someone should shove it up his ***.

Commander_ZeroNovember 20, 2013, 1:56 PM EST.

Comment ID #266731

@Ribbon:
“Both characters ****ed up but also have good and bad attributes. At the end of the day, they’re ultimately good-hearted and good people (cats?). Stop turning Mike into a monster and Lucy into an angel and vice versa.”

Well said!
He is upset and he has (mostly) the right to be upset. Nothing more to say.

OldManNovember 20, 2013, 1:56 PM EST.

Comment ID #266732

Amaya is like “jfc kid calm the frik down I barely know you”

SomewhatNovember 20, 2013, 1:58 PM EST.

Comment ID #266733

Fox,

in just the recent chapters, he was there for Paulo when he was hurting about Lucy’s disappearance, even though Paulo had just slugged him. In confrontation, even in a drunken state he had to step up to protect his friends when Lucy’s plan fell apart (I love how people keep bringing that up in defense of Lucy but forget it was Mike who saved the day in that affair). There are several other times in between then and now, i’d advise going back through the comic and see how many times he’s been there for them in contrast to the vice versa. Hell the only character who has really been there for mike is the one character who’s not here right now (and no i’m not talking about Lucy and outside of Sandy), Tessa. Daisy has too, kind of, but really it’s more she’s the one of the few who hasn’t antagonized him more than anything.

buchanen_neketNovember 20, 2013, 2:00 PM EST.

Comment ID #266734

People, understand the situation of these characters and stop taking sides and blaming others.

SojoboNovember 20, 2013, 2:01 PM EST.

Comment ID #266735

Amaya is like, “***** I never even talk to you.” And I hope Daisy isn’t gonna be a ***** about this in front of Abbey. I, personally, would not hug someone who did something so awful to one of my other friends, but I would indeed tell him he’s wrong in thinking no one cares about him.

Dizzy DialNovember 20, 2013, 2:02 PM EST.

Comment ID #266736

@Dudeler

I think thats probably the key issue men are expected to just take it because they’re stronger. But I do kinda think if the sexes we’re reversed he might have been considered a “bitch” or “tease” or some other name. Though I highly doubt the group would have been so tolerant of the abusive behavior and would have split long ago.

I don’t think Mike is thinking clearly though Daisy has always been a good friend, and David’s a bit of a idiot but he likes Mike too, Paulo’s always been more of a frienemy. . But perhaps this is how he really feels? Maybe he thought they were all friends till they insisted he take Lucy’s side? Or his feelings could have changed once she was gone and he saw how everyone was missing her/concerned?

Samm-yNovember 20, 2013, 2:04 PM EST.

Comment ID #266737

Personally, I would have loved to see a one or even a couple of chapters exploring this “abuse.” Honestly, I felt like the word has been thrown about so much that it kind of lost it’s meaning to me.

Can’t really say that I found Lucy abusing since I was looking through a comedic standpoint. Her slaps were as funny as Daisy crushing Abbey’s balls just a couple of pages back. Yet, Daisy is getting no ill looks from Abbey nor is Abbey looking at all effected by that smackdown. He’s not whining, limping, or in a fetal position on the couch. He’s just up and exploring the situation as if normal.

So really, I can’t demonize Lucy for physical abuse, because to me, it didn’t happen (PLOT wise). If you notice on the negative flashbacks Mike has of her before breaking down, you would notice that he remembers her calling him names but absolutely no memory of her hitting him, simply because they were all slapsticks. So this makes me believe that she was more emotionally abusing him rather than physically as most of you claim.

I would really have loved a chapter dedicated to Mike’s point of view, before Lucy went away, showing maybe him feeling crummy from Lucy’s insults or even a bit hurt from the groups acceptance of this. Hell, it would have been great to just have one page of him walking home saying something like “I wish they wouldn’t…”. But this seems out of the blue. His ego of claiming that they would all follow him overshadowed his dislike for them and hid his insecurities I wish we could have explored.

But now I can’t feel any sympathy (I’m not saying he doesn’t deserved it, please keep this in mind) for him because this seems sort like he’s trying to demonize them as he demonized Lucy in December. Maybe if he broke down rather than lashing out, he would have gotten more sympathy and understanding from me. Who knows? Maybe that’s what it will happen in the next page.

Overall, I don’t like Mike. BUT I love his character development, his actions and emotions as well as his flaws and good attributes. I love that he’s CHANGING with the story. Even though I think he’s getting more and more reckless, I’m warming up a bit to him.

TylordNovember 20, 2013, 2:04 PM EST.

Comment ID #266738

Yes Daisy… Do what you do best. She really is my favorite character.

If this was an RPG, Daisy, I think, would be a paladin.

She’s the glue that holds these crazy cats together. We need more people here in the real world like Daisy

kaminari683November 20, 2013, 2:10 PM EST.

Comment ID #266739

Unhealthy relationships are bad for you kids. Sometimes, some things are not worth patching up.

LenaNovember 20, 2013, 2:11 PM EST.

Comment ID #266740

I’ve heard it mentioned so many times in the last couple of pages, I think we’ve discovered Mike’s primary defense mechanism. When the humble charm breaks down and the hurt/anger starts to bubble up, he starts to lash out at others. It’s a hallmark of someone who has been abused, they go on the offensive instead of trying to find a way to diffuse the situation. If Mike is reacting to the hurt by trying to spread it out, it’s not unheard of but it definitely isn’t helpful. Daisy’s approach I think is much better.

jhornb02November 20, 2013, 2:11 PM EST.

Comment ID #266741

Tylord,

December and At loose ends. Go read those two and come back. December points out the (mostly) unseen perspective of Mike actually being hurt from Lucy hitting him. At loose ends, while telling abbey’s back story was also meant as a companion to December to show the similarities to Mike’s past behavior and how Abbey’s mom (an abuse victim) spoke and behaved. The very first page she basically says that Abbey’s dad acts the way he does because she must be getting on his nerves. This was done on purpose to draw a connection to how Mike was behaving in the past.

@kaminari683,

I dunno, i’d think she’s more of a cleric than a paladin. Abbey seems to fit the role of Paladin better.

buchanen_neketNovember 20, 2013, 2:11 PM EST.

Comment ID #266742

I’m starting to love daisy more and more…she’s the only one doin the rite thing! If mike leaves, it’s the groups fault.

RerunGirlNovember 20, 2013, 2:11 PM EST.

Comment ID #266743

Haha, see? I told you. Mike is the kind of person that just wells up all his ugly feelings, puts on a plastic happy face, get’s a few silent kicks off seeing other people fall down stairs, and hopes that somebody will understand him.
Lucy is the exact opposite. Any ugly feelings she has comes out on the surface and she don’t pretend nobody for nothing. She wants friends, sure, but she wants them to go through or see past her anger, which obviously not many if any of them can.
Well congratulations, Mike. Looks like Daisy is about ready to take your *****, so shut the f**k up about your s**t. Stop trying to pretend to be the perfect flower boy, when you’re obviously as screwed up as everyone claims Lucy to be and besides, don’t you have Sandy? Doesn’t she LOVE you? Don’t you LOVE her? Get over yourself, damn man.

Blank On PurposeNovember 20, 2013, 2:12 PM EST.

Comment ID #266744

Mike, you’re being a whiny butt. I mean, I get your feels about the no true friends (sorta), but you do a ****-all job of dealing with it properly. Good job taking that out on Lucy by the way, projecting all your insecurities into a jab at her back then.

Mike, it’s only as hard as you make it. I don’t even know what’s hard about your life aside from that time you fell in the river. “Boohoo I don’t know how to say no to people”. Grow a spine. He’s got the beginnings of “Nice Guy” syndrome written all over him. “But I PRETENDED to be nice! Why aren’t I getting what I WANT?!”

Daisy’s a class act though.

MaccaNovember 20, 2013, 2:13 PM EST.

Comment ID #266745

This single page made me realize just how much Mike and Lucy hurt themselves, more than anyone else.

So it sounds like his explosion on Lucy was the result of his overall resentment for not feeling included in the group as himself, rather than “Lucy’s friend”. I can see where he’s coming from, but that doesn’t excuse his behavior here or at Lucy given that a lot of these feelings come from the fact that he never tried to ask his friends how they felt about him and just recklessly assumed that they preferred Lucy over him.

In other words, his bitterness was self-induced in a rather large way. Hell, his biggest argument could be how they jumped on him for refusing Lucy after she admitted her love, but even then they backed off on that when he explained he was dating Sandy.

It’s kind of ironic in a way. Both Lucy and Mike felt massive amounts of loneliness, refused to talk to their friends about it as they were afraid their fears were right, and both are effectively self-destructing as a result. Lucy’s came from her just keeping the burden to herself more and more until she snapped into that emotionless state and making everyone worry about her more, and Mike by blaming everyone else for his fears that he never, ever tried to confirm himself. Mike’s blaming is the thing that really sent Lucy into the emotional spiral yes, but it was more the straw that broke the camel’s back after years of fear and self-loathing. Yes, Mike is partially responsible for Lucy’s breakdown, but at the end of the day, both Mike and Lucy have shown to be emotionally unstable due to creating their own fears and being unable to overcome them by talking with their friends.

Note that I’m not saying it’s easy or simple for them to actually overcome that fear and ask friends what they think about Mike/Lucy. That’s an incredibly difficult thing to do, so it’s not surprising that Mike is only airing his laundry now while he’s still under the effects of alcohol to an extent. However, it doesn’t change the fact that the original sources for both Mike and Lucy’s depressions are themselves more than anything else.

DeiserNovember 20, 2013, 2:14 PM EST.

Comment ID #266746

Comment ID #266747

@Tylord i really think that’s what Mike means. I don’t think it was the physical “abuse” but rather that he feels he was emotionally treated like garbage. And it really looks like Mike’s only intent in December was to destroy Lucy emotionally like he felt she did to him.

StyNovember 20, 2013, 2:16 PM EST.

Comment ID #266748

ok…. back at page 68 Mike…… your a just a ****ing dumb….

DaveOtowNovember 20, 2013, 2:17 PM EST.

Comment ID #266749

@Yisha you totally did not said we don’t know how real friends are.
Please, tell me you totally did not said that.

don'tyouknowmealready?November 20, 2013, 2:18 PM EST.

Comment ID #266750

@Blank_On_Purpose but the problem with the Sandy argument is that even though they’re “dating,” they never see eachother. He’s specifically talking about the people around him every day, these people that are supposed to be his friends.

jhornb02November 20, 2013, 2:18 PM EST.

Comment ID #266751

I never want to see Amaya make that face again! Why! Don’t yell at Amaya, Mike!
Also, you’re probably making a huge mistake
I did something like this recently and I lost almost all of my friends
Including my best friend
Be careful what you wish for

AlaystusNovember 20, 2013, 2:19 PM EST.

Comment ID #266752

Awww I hope Daisy doesn’t leave Abbey :c I’d be so sad

kitty777November 20, 2013, 2:19 PM EST.

Comment ID #266753

@Ribbon
Beautifully portrayed, Ribbon. Honestly can’t say it better myself not only about how both Lucy and Michael are acting and being treated, but also how sickening some of these comments are.
It’s going to be interesting to see what direction Daisy takes this, since it’s obvious she isn’t completely over Mike (dreaming about him in her sleep).

SandvichNovember 20, 2013, 2:20 PM EST.

Comment ID #266754

I used to have a friend like Lucy. Her father was a professional MMA fighter. He had no sons so he taught her EVERYTHING about fighting. Well, that didn’t make her too popular with the girls much like Lucy so she ended up with me and my friends. She had a different way of showing affection and as she got more comfortable around us, she got more violent. Rough housing was her form of showing she cared, I suppose. It was fine but it just got rougher and rougher until my friends could no longer handle it and left. Just leaving her, me, and one other with us. He was a little guy with something to prove so he and she just fed off of each other…. me stuck in the middle. I was the big guy with a high tolerance for pain, AKA Punching Bag. Though her abuse wasn’t just physical. I know she cared, Desmond (The Little Guy) knew she cared. However, from a distance, you’d never tell. They just seemed like average bullies picking on quiet ol’ me. Her father retired and opened a gym which she drug me to. I learned how to actually fight against her, and now she’s my girlfriend to this day, albeit she’s going to college in Atlanta.

The moral of the story is that I had TWO abusive friends and I make it. It gets better when they get older. They get more self control. If I had left, she and Desmond wouldn’t be friends. I was their friend and common and who kept them from becoming more like enemies than friends. We already had a few close calls between those two. My point is that if you know someone needs you, and you drop them willingly, it IS your fault. You knew she’d be lost without you and she was. Had I left and my two torn each other to shreds before separating and being alone, it would have been my fault. Hints why I stuck through. It’s one thing to vent, it one thing to take a break from her, but if you are willing to hatefully push her away and try to make her feel like she has no friends, then YES. You are an *******. Because there where more ways to handle the situation and you chose one of the worst. Don’t be surprised when your choice gets the worst outcome.

W.E.SmithNovember 20, 2013, 2:23 PM EST.

Comment ID #266755

W.E.Smith,

That’s you, that’s not mike, that’s not others. I know from my own personal experiences with abuse. Long short of it, in my situation it resulted in me nearly killing my stepfather to protect my sister from him and my mother from herself.

buchanen_neketNovember 20, 2013, 2:29 PM EST.

Comment ID #266756

Finally he does something about it , i was always all for Mike , everyone is always such jerks to him , like wtf man , people are calling him out because of what happened to Lucy (wich i still don´t get) , in real life , Mike would¨ve kill himself first , why does nobody thinks of what he could feel …..By the way , in the last page i really thought Abbey was going to react in some way…..

Comment ID #266758

Wow, Mike. It’s one thing to want to avoid someone, that’s understandable. It’s another to emotionally abuse them to the point of self-harm.

“Waahh wahh look at my horrible life with my popularity, intact and caring family, and super hot model girlfriend. It’s all sooooo hard for me. How dare you get angry at me for hurting one of your good friends! I didn’t do anything a bloo bloooo ”

I’m so done with you, Mike. Why don’t you go talk to Augustus about horrible lives and see how far that gets you.

LumiNovember 20, 2013, 2:31 PM EST.

Comment ID #266759

In response to the gaslighting comment: Mike is drunk. If he’s manipulating anyone, it’s with the own views he holds inside, just like anyone else.

I’m just glad this page happened. I’m not on his “side” but he deserves to have his pity party too, if only to show he doesn’t deserve it as much as he thinks he does.

I’m also glad this was brought up because Lucy aside, the group HAS always been really awful to Mike. I just don’t buy that they were much better to Lucy, confession day aside.

HazelNovember 20, 2013, 2:34 PM EST.

Comment ID #266760

Mike should leave town… He is a real a**hole … Daisy sooooo cute

LolNovember 20, 2013, 2:34 PM EST.

Comment ID #266761

Woah! I think Mike and the comments section needs to calm down. Mike isn’t thinking rationally here. It’s the drink making his thinking clouded and making him more unreasonable as a result. He’s blinded by anger and by being drunk. Perhaps if these were different circumstances, like if he was in his right mind for example, things wouldn’t be so blown out of proportion. I agree that Mike is wrong on some points in his little rant, but he’s not quite wrong either. He wasn’t treated fairly amongst his friends and by Lucy most of all. But again being angry blinded him that time too, so he didn’t go the sensible way about it. Seriously people, what would you do if you were the same position as Mike is now, what would you do different?

CrystalzonerNovember 20, 2013, 2:39 PM EST.

Comment ID #266762

Oh my goodness Mike shut up.

kamiNovember 20, 2013, 2:39 PM EST.

Comment ID #266763

Sup Abby.

EkoNovember 20, 2013, 2:40 PM EST.

Comment ID #266764

@Commander_Zero:
come on, it’s not that if she hugs him it automatically means she still “loves” him and would ditch abbey instantly. don’t be like thanatos that is all like “hurr touching = cheating durr”.

boh...November 20, 2013, 2:42 PM EST.

Comment ID #266765

Ab would go mad… but he has spongy ball…

JayLimeNovember 20, 2013, 2:43 PM EST.

Comment ID #266766

Don’t worry Mike! There will always be someone to abuse and mistreat you! And there will always be people willing to justify their abusive actions!

It will all work out in the end!

Huh?November 20, 2013, 2:44 PM EST.

Comment ID #266767

uhhhh, Lumi,

1) his popularity kind of went out the window when Paulo started convincing the girls in school he was a cheater, thus the cheater squad.

2) He’s not talking about his family or his girlfriend. He’s talking about his so called friends, those people who are supposed to be there for him when he’s hurting. Who’s supposed to have his back when he’s in trouble. Instead he has to have their back more than anything and has had to bite his tongue on his own problems because he can’t trust them to watch his back. Really if anything it was they were Lucy’s friends and he was there by proxy (or association or whatever). That they only hung out with mike because of Lucy, but they weren’t really his friends. At least that’s how he’s starting to see it.

buchanen_neketNovember 20, 2013, 2:44 PM EST.

Comment ID #266768

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! I love this comic… but god dang it Mike needs to go somewhere… I can’t wait for this chapter to end to get back to more interesting things than… Mike

WhaNovember 20, 2013, 2:45 PM EST.

Comment ID #266769

I have a feeling that panel 5 is actually a not-so-subtle reference to the comments on the page rather than the characters, just putting that out there…

Comment ID #266770

@buchanen_neket

I am aware of those. I was saying that I wished that this feeling of loneliness or abuse was emphasized BEFORE December. Like we could tell Abbey was messed by his father by subtle hints like his passion against bullying, his therapy lessons, his mentions of worries for his sister. In Mike’s situation there was no warning or mention that he felt this way before December and so the feeling felt out of the blue and too soon (for us as an audience).

@Sty
Glad to know that someone else agrees! Maybe in the next page he will point that out.

TylordNovember 20, 2013, 2:48 PM EST.

Comment ID #266771

That last panel is too adorable. X3

I'll Eat YourselfNovember 20, 2013, 2:48 PM EST.

Comment ID #266772

I’ve always felt bad for Mike so this page was awesome!

LollyNovember 20, 2013, 2:49 PM EST.

Comment ID #266773

@buchanen_neket

Ah! I see. Good point. Certainly makes more sense.

kaminari683November 20, 2013, 2:53 PM EST.

Comment ID #266774

This…is something that I saw coming since December.

“People were nice to me so long as I played nice with you. And I gave in.”

Daisy is the only one to prove Mike wrong. What Sue and Paolo did earlier only reaffirmed his thoughts that he expressed in December. That hug from Daisy is enough to prove him completely wrong.

This entire page is heartbreaking to read…for all of the characters.

Also @Ribbon: *bows* That is a good piece that you wrote there.

ChocothundaNovember 20, 2013, 2:54 PM EST.

Comment ID #266775

@ buchanen_neket mikes friends weren’t there for him? They ignored his cry’s of pain and made fun of him and antagonized him? Maybe he should have stood up for himself and put his foot down. Ow wait….He is a ***** who doesn’t stand up and defend himself. He let’s people walk all over him till he explodes in someone’s face. Mike himself is not a very good friend so he has no room to talk.

Blue foxNovember 20, 2013, 2:55 PM EST.

Comment ID #266776

@buchanen_neket Your step father wasn’t a 14 year old girl. And I’m sure his abuse was far worse than Lucy’s to warrant such an extreme reaction. Your action where probably farm more justified than Mike’s. Where in his case and my case, it was a younger girl just doing what she knows. If I wanted her gone, I didn’t have to crush her to the point she wouldn’t be around anyone. I had many more options I could have taken where-as you might not have. Mike had even more options than I did since Lucy has MANY more friends than just Mike. But instead, he not only separated himself from her, he shoved her away from them in one foul tantrum. I know what it’s like to have an abusive step father, however mine obviously wasn’t as bad as yours. That and my mother is tougher than that jar-head. I’m not saying he had to stick it out like I did. But he could have done it better. And if it was getting bad, he could have done it a long time ago before he was too angry to do some sensibly. So yeah. Whether he likes it or not, he had control over her. She really was dependent on him and if he needed to get out from under her, shove her on Paulo. He obviously wouldn’t mind. He made a bad call under the pressure he let himself build up. It’s his responsibility even though he didn’t choose it.

W.E.SmithNovember 20, 2013, 2:56 PM EST.

Comment ID #266777

Ya sure he’s not talking to the comment section?

LitwickNovember 20, 2013, 3:02 PM EST.

Comment ID #266778

I am just going to leave you guys. With a question . If you had to deal with a girl like Lucy who is what we call a Tsundere but shows the dere side to everyone but you . Can you honestly say it’s okay to take it , I been there and I lost all of my highschool friends cause of a girl like that. I made it quite clear I just saw her as a friend and yet my “friends” got mad because I never hook up with her and then made me to be the bad guy . I don’t condonned what he did but I can see why he feels like that

SeariverNovember 20, 2013, 3:02 PM EST.

Comment ID #266779

@Blue_Fox I used to be guilty of that myself. Still am to a point. It really is harder for some people than other. You see everyone else’s issues and think that yours aren’t worth mentioning. So, you just keep them bottled up. Trying to deal them them on your own. But sometimes, more and more come in faster than you can deal with them. Mike just needs to learn how to realize when it’s reaching a boiling point and to let it out before it explodes on it’s own. Because that’s when you do **** you shouldn’t.

W.E.SmithNovember 20, 2013, 3:03 PM EST.

Comment ID #266780

@Buchan_neket
I’m confused, what’s this “Lucy’s plan” you’re talking about? Also, ok looking back he was there for some of them, but that doesn’t change the fact that every time anyone ever said anything about Lucy being a bad friend, except Sandy, he would automatically defend her and said it wasn’t true. When all you hear from a person is everything okay you just don’t understand why would you think there’s a problem? also even when he was done he still was a bad friend to Daisy, he didn’t even notice she had left the table. basically I’m saying that his being there for some of them does not negate the fact that he never told them how he felt and essentially is mad at them now for not reading his mind.Daisy said more than once that she thought Lucy was a bad friend and Mike shut her down every time. He needs to communicate and stop expecting everyone to just know how he feels. People seem to forget bet that Lucy beat on everyone just Mike and they never had a problem with it and he did not seem to have a problem so they did not to do anything about it.

foxNovember 20, 2013, 3:03 PM EST.

Comment ID #266781

Aw, Daisy still cares :3

The Nameless OneNovember 20, 2013, 3:03 PM EST.

Comment ID #266782

Blue fox,

“Mike himself is not a very good friend” yeah confrontation and vacation beg to differ. In the former he had to fight much larger guys to protect his friends after Lucy’s plan fell to pieces (never got her plan, btw, she has issues with guys leeching her but has no problem seducing someone. kind of counter to her character). In Vacation he nearly got himself killed protecting Lucy in a sacrifice move.

@W.E.Smith,
I was saying that you aren’t mike, thus mike’s feelings on the situation are going to ultimately be different, thus the outcome is going to be different. Honestly, you’re kind of fitting the mentality of the trope of “abuse is okay when it’s female on male”. That trope as some have speculated around here, is what is currently being deconstructed.

@fox,
Lucy’s plan of attack in confrontation, that’s what i was talking about. She seduced one of the attackers to draw him in close and then attacked. It kind of fell to hell when she got overpowered and nearly got her raped. The only reason she didn’t was because Mike stepped in (something everyone who uses that bullet point in defending lucy seems to always forget)

buchanen_neketNovember 20, 2013, 3:06 PM EST.

Comment ID #266783

Well put Mike. I remember a few arcs back when the whole group jumped on him over Sandy and getting mad about it.

Behind every ******* is a story, and Mike I know your story. The others I’m not so sure about.

w-w-wait is she hugging him?! why…

SeigiRedNovember 20, 2013, 3:06 PM EST.

Comment ID #266784

@buchanen_neket

He says right there his friends apparently have no idea how hard his life is, but what IS hard about his life exactly? I fail to see anything. Sure Paulo diminished his popularity a little bit by doing that, but it was mostly played for gags and we pretty much never see the repercussions of it. A few less girls hanging off him as a result of that doesn’t mean he’s not popular. People still talk favourably about him all the time. Him saying his friends don’t care is wrong too, because they make an effort to include him in everything. No one treats him like **** except Paulo and that’s mostly for fun, as evidenced by how Paulo was going on about how good of a friend he was while drunk. Also he was SO SURE that EVERYONE would choose him over Lucy, unless he was just bluffing (which is arguably worse) so how can he turn around and say that they only care about Lucy? They care about the both of them; the fact is Mike was more of a **** about what he did in their eyes because everyone knew Lucy adored the earth Mike walked on and didn’t take her ‘bullying’ seriously. Not to say that she’s right for doing so, but he dealt with it in a completely unacceptable way.

He has nothing to bitch about. He’s being overdramatic and only digging himself a bigger hole. He could at least pretend to be sorry instead of pinning all the blame for HIS mistakes on everyone else. It seemed like he was acknowledging his ****up for a while and I was proud of him, but he’s just regressed again. No pity.

LumiNovember 20, 2013, 3:07 PM EST.

Comment ID #266785

…. And then they all banged? Or not. But by all means let loose the flames of rage Mike, you arent wrong here. Nobody ever really did anything when Lucy would wrong you. Only exception is Amaya who is never really involved.

Anon-AnonNovember 20, 2013, 3:09 PM EST.

Comment ID #266786

Why is everyone so goddayum impulsive in this comic?

Also, in retrospect, Lucy wasn’t that b!tchy of a character. She was just less enthusiastic and reserved than the rest. Sure, she clung to Mike, but best friends tend to spend more time with each other.

Mike’s making her out to be someone she wasn’t. Memory can be pretty unreliable =A=;

xoxNovember 20, 2013, 3:10 PM EST.

Comment ID #266787

@Blue Fox Reread the comic. He’s been there for his friends more often than they were there for him. The only people who had his back (besides Lucy) were Daisy and Tess. The rest pretty much treated him like a punching bag or the butt of the joke. Hell, he was there for Paulo (Friggin’ PAULO) when he had his cryfest over Lucy even though Paulo has been nothing but an absolute *** to him throughout the whole comic.

Also, saying he should’ve stood up for himself and calling him a wuss is borderline idiotic. Do you say that to people who were victims of emotional or physical abuse as well?

DeeNovember 20, 2013, 3:11 PM EST.

Comment ID #266788

This comic just got so meta. Mike could just as well be talking to a large portion of the readers with the “I’m always the *******” thing.

Hm… he still doesn’t get it completely. Of course it makes sense he’d want Lucy to lay off but that’s not the problem here, the problem is how he dealt with it. Come on kid, you’re almost there.

Also yay Daisy. I think the guy needs a hug right now. He’s not completely evil after all.

@buchanen_neket
I would argue that Lucy is fine when she’s in control of her sexuality, and hates when she isn’t. When someone else creeps on her or flirts first, that suddenly seems like a loss of control. When she initiates, she’s in charge, so she doesn’t feel distressed. Just speculating, but it explains her actions a lot of the time, and I know it’s true of a lot of real life people.

KetNovember 20, 2013, 3:12 PM EST.

Comment ID #266789

@ W.E.Smith all part of growing up.
@ buchanen_neket I didn’t say mike was a piece of ****. He is a good guy. But wee can’t all be good guys all the time. The only perfect one is Amaya .
@ Dee I didn’t say mike wasn’t there. He just let his little feelings get hurt by words from friends.

Blue foxNovember 20, 2013, 3:14 PM EST.

Comment ID #266790

Just to throw my opinion out there, but it seems to me that both Mike and Lucy are to blame for everything breaking down, to a pretty-much equal degree.

Yes, Lucy was an abusive bitch that didn’t even try to organize her own feelings, let alone consider anyone else’s. But even before December, it seemed to me like Mike just let it happen. Whether because he liked Lucy or what, he sort-of fell into something like a ‘passive-aggressive trap’, allowing her to do as she pleased without taking the initiative to stand up for himself. He could have avoided this whole scenario if he’d been more assertive with Lucy. I’m reminded of the end of the first Harry Potter book where Dumbledore commends Neville for standing up against his friends, which is exactly what Mike didn’t do.

Instead he bottled it up and now is making a habit of letting the frustration boil over to solve his problems. I’m just glad that it looks like someone is finally willing to step up and be the fabled ‘voice of reason’ in this mess before he completely repeats December.
(Abbey, be cool bro. this needs to happen)

DerrickNovember 20, 2013, 3:17 PM EST.

Comment ID #266791

Mike really does need professional treatment, his vision of the world is so warped right now everyone is an enemy. If his wasn’t their friend would he have been have that much fun just a few pages ago, but someone said something that set him off and he goes back to Mr. Woe is me!

OmegaBNovember 20, 2013, 3:18 PM EST.

Comment ID #266792

This has been a long time coming …
Cue Lucy walking into the party and more akwardness

Tigerclaw32November 20, 2013, 3:20 PM EST.

Comment ID #266793

Actually we do get a spoken repercussion, Lumi. Mike basically says at one point (i forget where) that the one upside to the cheater squad was that he doesn’t have all the girls fawning over him, not his exact words of course but it’s basically what he meant.

As for the rest, we really don’t know that much about the situation with his family life. All we really know is that he has a little brother, a working mom, no idea on the father, and a sister who’s, well, the usual for a sister. He has a girlfriend, but he rarely sees her and his only form of contact with her is by voice.

As for what he said to lucy, he probably thought he was right. He thought they would at least hear him out and possibly see what he sees when he told them about the real lucy (he believed they didn’t know the real lucy, he more or less says that when he’s talking about none of them staying with her when he left). But the reaction here is telling of something that’s probably been a growing suspicion to him. Thus this outburst he’s having now. The first reaction he got instead of questioning was to get slugged in the face, more or less proving that they don’t care about him and his reasons for doing what he did.

Honestly now that I think on it, really what do we really know about Mike. A lot of people here have been quick to jump his case, but really we don’t know a thing about him. Before December we didn’t know how much pain he was in from Lucy’s constant hitting him and before now we really didn’t know his feelings on his friends. You can say he has a good life, but does he? We really don’t know because we’ve had so much of the comic revolve around lucy and Mike’s relation to her. But beyond that we really don’t know much about Mike’s personal life. For all we know his life really is **** outside of his romance with Sandy. It would also explain why he’s on cloud 9 when dealing with her. She’s the only good thing in his life.

buchanen_neketNovember 20, 2013, 3:21 PM EST.

Comment ID #266794

Ugh, guys. It’s a work of fiction. Try to remember that. C;
That being said, let’s all take a look back at this page:http://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/c68/p30.html
He had the right to hate her.
Every right in the world.
But was saying that she never liked him, and nobody liked him, and nobody liked her, and calling her a ****ing parasite the best thing he could do? What happened to opening up but no throwing knives at people? The things he said obviously cut deep in Lucy, even though she had thick skin. She finally tried to come out to loving him and the best thing he could say was Okay? He seems to forget in this chapter that his actions affect other people. I don’t hate him, I’m just ticked that he’s not even sad that he pushed Lucy to trying to kill herself (from what I gather).
What really cut deep with me is “You’re just a parasite.” Nobody is a parasite… Everyone is worth something.
Then, Lucy tried to patch things up with her and she almost did it… then he got that text from Sandy and started pushing her away.
Mike and Lucy both ****ed up: Lucy was being mean to him (without knowing it) and Mike broke it off cruelly. I only have a slight bias to hating Mike because he called her a parasite.
And just because nobody agreed with him he said that they weren’t even his friends ever.
Douchy move, Mike.
Doughy move.

ParasiteNovember 20, 2013, 3:26 PM EST.

Comment ID #266795

Awwww… Mike!

I don’t like you either.

SanitariumNovember 20, 2013, 3:27 PM EST.

Comment ID #266796

@Derrick

I agree with this. They’re both at fault for what happened, but the issue at this point is being able to understand their mistakes, admit them, and make the proper amends. Lucy at the very least seems to realize she screwed up, although her solution was not optimal since she went full-out affectionate when Mike is in no position — or mindframe — to reciprocate, but Mike just doesn’t seem to want to claim any responsibility for his actions whatsoever. The reasonable Mike criticizers know that Lucy is far from innocent in this whole situation, but that Mike dealt with it in the poorest fashion imaginable and possibly did irrevocable damage to Lucy’s psyche. He never once tried to breach the subject of her behavior with him until he snapped. How was she supposed to know that he wasn’t alright with her treatment of him if he always acted like it was? You might think it’s common sense, but to someone like Lucy who never had many friends growing up, it may not be. THAT is my beef. I just want Mike to admit what he did to Lucy was wrong, and Lucy is gonna need to do that too.

LumiNovember 20, 2013, 3:27 PM EST.

Comment ID #266797

@buchanen_neket No of course it’s not. I may not share his feelings but I can see the outcome. If it was getting so bad that he is willing to cut her off from everyone just to see her suffer (Which is the only reason why it would have gone further than just him leaving), then he should have fixed it a long time ago! No one would have gotten hurt more than they should have. Lucy got hurt more than she should have. Did she deserve a wake-up call? Hell yeah! Did she deserve her world coming to a screeching halt? No. He had enough reason to push her away. If he had walked out of her life forever, I wouldn’t had blamed him one bit. Is that all he did? He not only pulled away from her but tried to make her feel totally alone when he knew better than that! He doesn’t need her to be totally alone to get away from her. He did that to hurt her and that makes him no better. I understand what your saying but only half of Mike’s actions where justified. The rest where excessive and that is what I’m arguing about.

I’m not jumping on the bandwagon and calling him a straight up “*******” because we know from the comic that not the problem. He’s a nice guy that’s overloaded. I’m not questioning his feeling, only his self control. Because without self control, you become a ***** who releases your feelings on everyone around you. He should have escaped. But he became the bad-guy when instead, he struck her down.

W.E.SmithNovember 20, 2013, 3:29 PM EST.

Comment ID #266798

dear mike cause you drived her away when she thougth you was her friend. thats why

usagimomoNovember 20, 2013, 3:29 PM EST.

Comment ID #266799

Oh the feels…

I’m honestly glad this is happening the way it is. By taking the persepective of Mike, his “friends” have not always been so nice.

Here’s an example from the chapter Lucy confessed her love to Mike:
They made fun of him and didn’t believe him when he said he had a girlfriend, and most got very upset when he denied Lucy’s confession of love to him. They immediately sided with her and put Mike at fault for not loving her.

I agree Mike didn’t react too well when he was finally fed up with it, but at the same time, maybe he would’ve reacted better if he wasn’t always made the “bad guy” in every situation…

Also @Ribbon, that explanation was absolutely perfect, and so eloquently put. I really hope everyone will read your insightful post.

AngryBunnyNovember 20, 2013, 3:35 PM EST.

Comment ID #266800

can u just god damn ammit you were a bad friend!? dick

Dell152November 20, 2013, 3:37 PM EST.

Comment ID #266801

Thinking on it, I can’t recall a time other than that carnival date those two had where they were on bad terms with each other. Even when everyone found out he turned down Lucy, she more just stood there looking upset about it, but unlike everyone else, she didn’t rag on him about it. And even then, for both situations, the negativity didn’t last long at all. It took less than a day for the issue to dissolve, if I remember correctly. So if you think about it, these two have always stayed pretty good friends. Maybe even one of the few people Mike can truly call an actual friend.
Speaking of friends, it’s about time he laid into them on this. They haven’t exactly been all that great to him, and they had this coming. Even better, it’s practically what his blow up at Lucy SHOULD have been; at this point, he’s just told them what they’ve done, then tried to leave. And I don’t think he’ll have any backup extra-scathing remarks for them now, (well, maybe Paulo, but whatever) and especially not towards Daisy. And no, this isn’t him “whining”, all Mike-haters. This is an actual, fairly serious issue that should had been brought up long ago, but wasn’t, and is now being brought up. Deal with it.

Oceanus92 November 20, 2013, 3:37 PM EST.

Comment ID #266802

@Oceanus92: Pretty much this.

ChocothundaNovember 20, 2013, 3:41 PM EST.

Comment ID #266803

Oh daysi dear… she had reacted in an adorable way x3

eagleNovember 20, 2013, 3:42 PM EST.

Comment ID #266804

I’m not gonna lie. I am totally on the fence as far as “who is in the most wrong”. I personally think that Mike and Lucy both handled things badly. It’s understandable that Mike finally got pushed over the edge. Do I like a lot of what he says? No. But I do think it needs to be said.

My BIGGEST concern is honestly Abbey and Daisy right now. I really hope that she is only trying to be supportive to Mike and isn’t going to be all drunk and say “I LOVE YOU AND STILL LOVE YOU!” I really really hope she has dealt with her feelings toward him. If she doesn’t confess feelings toward him and only says that she is his friend I don’t think Abbey will be too upset. When they first started dating he said he didn’t want to pressure her into it because he knew she had feelings. He said he would wait for her. I really think he will be understanding. If she does say she loves him…. all hell may break loose.

I’m also curious to see how Mike will react. I kinda see him yelling at Daisy and being all “I HAVE A GIRLFRIEND *****! I TOLD YOU THAT!” And then Abbey will flip **** on Mike. Or maybe she will calm him down!!! I just think I will probably cry tomorrow.

Sorry for the long post! Be gentle!

ObsessedFanNovember 20, 2013, 3:42 PM EST.

Comment ID #266805

These kids need calm the heckie down, and talk about stuff and when Lucy comes back Mike needs to discuss with her (in a civil )way what went wrong, and BOTH need to give each other a long and sincere apology.I’m not pro Mike or pro Lucy I’m pro fix this downward spiral this is just going to leave everyone in the group an emotional mess if this keeps spiraling farther and farther.

ToddNovember 20, 2013, 3:43 PM EST.

Comment ID #266806

@Oceanus92 well said

?!?November 20, 2013, 3:44 PM EST.

Comment ID #266807

“The first reaction he got instead of questioning was to get slugged in the face, more or less proving that they don’t care about him and his reasons for doing what he did.”

I’d like to ask that you please don’t condense the whole group as feeling the same thing because of the action PAULO took. If you replace “they” with “Paulo” it may become more true. But at least in the last page, Sue and Rachel who were closest to Paulo, attempted to grab him off of Mike. Nobody said anything else, made any more comments, except for Paulo (and now of course Daisy hugging Mike).

If they don’t try to do or say anything in the next couple of pages, then feel free to make the first generalization with that statement. But until then? Please refrain. <3

-Disappears back into the shadows-

YaschiriNovember 20, 2013, 3:50 PM EST.

Comment ID #266808

@Lumi

Therein lies a problem all too common with humanity. We have a wall built of pride, drama and exaggeration keeping the main contenders from making any real headway in this. Thus it falls to someone near enough to see and understand what is happening but ‘disconnected’ and reasonable enough to disentangle it all and show them that they need to make concessions as well. A role I’m really hoping Daisy can fulfil right now.

My point was Mike should have made it clear that what Lucy was doing wasn’t right. I wasn’t really convinced by either of their ‘apologies’ when both seemed too keen to just hit the reset button and brush all the problems under the rug. They both dealt with their issues and each other very poorly, and now with Lucy out of the picture, they are denied any opportunity to make amends. Paulo’s actions are complicating things as much as Sandy’s partial-presence did.

DerrickNovember 20, 2013, 3:52 PM EST.

Comment ID #266809

@obsessedFan,

Honestly i’m a tad worried about that too. Not the Abbey and Daisy thing but how Mike is going to react to Daisy hugging him. I wish his reaction in the last panel was a bit more telling, but because it isn’t i am worried that Daisy has just grabbed onto a exploding bomb and is basically going to suffer an attack because she made a move at the wrong time. Hopefully not and she’ll say something that’ll calm mike down. But we still have 7 pages left, that’s quite a bit of time for him to just be calmed down. But what do I know, maybe this is the beginning of the falling action for this chapter and calmer minds will soon prevail.

buchanen_neketNovember 20, 2013, 3:53 PM EST.

Comment ID #266810

One hand, yes he does kinda have a point. His friends should at least stand up and support him but on the other hand…dose he really deserve his friends sympathy? Disregard December. What does he do as a friend himself? Don’t take this the wrong way, I don’t hate Mike nor any of the cast (The bar guy yes but still). All Mike seems to do is talk about himself and how perfect his life is going and how every bad thing revolving around himself, He manages to spin it around and make someone else look bad. “I’m the bad guy!” he proclaims “I’m the a-hole!” he shouts from the roof tops. This entire act is so he can get some satisfaction and some sort of positive or any reaction from anyone else instantly. If you think Lucy is the only one that is clingy, you are sorely mistaken. Mike’s whole plan was to use his friends to completely alienate and destroy her. That is the coldest and lowest move that i can possible think of and he’s only lashing out because his plan didn’t work because he himself is NOT a good friend. Hell even Sandy didn’t want Mike and Lucy hating each other. Maybe his relation with Lucy was abusive. Maybe it was good to express his feelings . Maybe Sandy was just looking out for Mike, but he didn’t need to being anyone his his circle of friends in it and didn’t need to destroy Lucy’s emotional well being for the sake of Sandy. There was a better way and that got thrown at the moment the work parasite was uttered.

DamageNovember 20, 2013, 3:54 PM EST.

Comment ID #266811

Why do I have this feeling that Abby’s gonna be p***ed off that Daisy hugged Mike?

RandomFandomNovember 20, 2013, 3:55 PM EST.

Comment ID #266812

Us Mike haters? Please I just wanted him to feel all the pain Lucy had when he said such mean things to her when he was her “friend” I liked it when Mike and Lucy had their nice moments and I don’t hate Mike, I just want him to feel the pain he caused others.

MidstrikeNovember 20, 2013, 3:55 PM EST.

Comment ID #266813

Lucy was awful to Mike for -years-. Mike’s awful to Lucy for a whole week and suddenly he’s the jerk. I mean, sure, they’re both jerks, but I think Lucy’s still got more jerk-points accumulated over time.

I know that being an attractive girl generally makes one ‘tsundere’ instead of a bitch, but a bitch is a bitch is a bitch. She harvested the emotional crop she planted, and then she couldn’t take it. Mike’s response is predictable, and even somewhat reasonable, though certainly neither wise nor kind.

Anyway, I know I’m one of the minority not opening up a can of hate on Mike. Enjoy your Mike bashing, my fine peeps.

Non-Hater MinorityNovember 20, 2013, 3:55 PM EST.

Comment ID #266814

I hate to say it, but I have to agree with Mike here. His so-called friends never really supported him. They never agreed with him, even when neither side was right. He never gets any support. Because of this, he has just learned to ignore their advice, especially regarding Lucy. With nothing to stop him, the anger just kept building and building. And we know what happened then. He still does not understand that what he did is wrong. Now he is trying to support the opinion that he was right about all of those things in December. It’s crumbling though, and I hope that his “friends” will be there when it does, because there will be whiplash.
+
Daisy: Too little, too late. You mashed Lucy and mike together at times when they should have been apart and had time to think. You rammed them together, and Mike felt that it was oppressive. He lashed out because it seemed like Lucy would not leave him alone: yet she was simply being pushed around by the circumstances, including you.
+
Lucy reacted so badly because she trusts Mike. She trusted him to the point where she valued his opinion above her own. When serious matters came about, and he yelled at her, she believed him. She assumed that he was telling the absolute truth, and so fell into a bubble. She hated herself as much as Mike did. I know this because I also have someone that I trust that much, and it’s a problem because even though they love me, all of the little things stick. Complaints, etc stay for a long time.

LordofryeNovember 20, 2013, 3:56 PM EST.

Comment ID #266815

Justice ;D

StridonNovember 20, 2013, 3:58 PM EST.

Comment ID #266816

I ship it. Just because of that last panel.

SpartacusNovember 20, 2013, 4:00 PM EST.

Comment ID #266817

I don’t really get why people don’t believe Mike now feels what he did was wrong (specifically the brutal emotional attack that is). He’s apologized face to face to Lucy and basically admitted to her he went to far. Just because he still feels the way he did when it happened doesn’t mean he doesn’t regret his specific actions. Paulo could for example regret punching Mike without necessarily changing his stance towards him. Mike still feels much the same way that he did in December, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t acknowledge what he did was wrong.

It now seems especially obvious that Mike’s attack on the quality of Lucy’s relationship with the rest of the cast was more a case of him projecting his own issues. I don’t honestly think he genuinely believed Lucy would be abandoned by them but rather the opposite, and he was trying to push that fear away from himself. Not a good response at all but not an uncommon one. Just look at Abby’s hyper-aggressive approach to his anti bullying beliefs. He fears being a violent person like his father so much that he’d sooner call out anyone else for bullying then acknowledge the extreemness of his own views.

Co-incidentally Abby has also had professional help in this reguard which seemingly has helped him learn to deal with these emotions better, something Lucy, Mike and Paulo have not, and as such they fumble through dealing with their emotions. Lucy abuses those who are close to her and has only now after years acknowledged it and tried to fix it. Mike bottled up to breaking point and then tried to project it all away out of desperation. Paulo is impulsive, rash and immature, living almost exclusively in the moment because it’s the only way he can justify his actions rather then deal with his actual problems.

We need more Augustus I reckon. The way he put Lucy in her place in the early parts of December is something they all desparatly need

Edit: good god dem autocorrect errors

AlphariusNovember 20, 2013, 4:00 PM EST.

Comment ID #266818

@Lordofrye I think Mike does realize what he did was wrong on some level at least. Earlier in this chapter (“To Lucy”) we see him start to break down and the only thing I could imagine making him do that (besides the booze) is guilt. He cried outside the hospital, he’s cried here today, he feels bad about the result of what he did. He may be only partially conscious of the wrongness (is that a word?) of his actions and still grappling with the complicated feelings of the whole post-December situation, but his guilt comes from somewhere, and right now he’s trying to cover it up with the anger he feels for not getting any support.

Maybe I’m putting myself too much in his position, but if I was that is how I would feel.

Comment ID #266819

Edit: Also WTF She is a ***** just because she HUGGED him?? I mean AT LEAST WAIT FOR THE NEXT PAGE!!!

gudfsfsNovember 20, 2013, 4:04 PM EST.

Comment ID #266820

I do hope this helps clear some of the air. I feel that both Lucy and Mike have been in the wrong at times, but maybe this is just one step towards all those pent up emotions being let out. I believe this is all acting as a cathartic release to all these feelings they’ve just bottled up over the years. After all that pressure building, naturally the release is going to be rather explosive.

DracainNovember 20, 2013, 4:04 PM EST.

Comment ID #266821

The comic is going to end with them all sitting around after graduating and going, “Damn we were a bunch of drama freaks.” What are they even fighting about?!
(And I mean besides Lucy leaving and Mike getting abused)

SpartacusNovember 20, 2013, 4:06 PM EST.

Comment ID #266822

@ Non-Hater Minority
there are just as many people who love mike as hate him. The problem is that the majority of them hate someone else. the real non-hater minority is the one that tries to see all sides. About the accumulated jerkitude: Lucy probably did not know how much she was hurting people until after the Acapulco. At that point, she actually tried to fix her problem. She is the only character besides Tessa to have improved herself. Everyone else ignored their own flaws and went around wrong-headed, but she genuinely tried to become a better person. Does she not deserve any points for trying to fix her mistakes(which almost nobody else has done)?

LordofryeNovember 20, 2013, 4:07 PM EST.

Comment ID #266823

@Blue Fox
“He just let his little feelings get hurt by words from friends”
You mean like his words to Lucy? So she should have just gotten over it too?

HerumphNovember 20, 2013, 4:07 PM EST.

Comment ID #266824

I’m just gonna pretend for a second that everyone here believes that Mike is at least someone justified for being ****** that people just stood back and laughed while he got beat up. Just for a second.

IcsifilNovember 20, 2013, 4:07 PM EST.

Comment ID #266825

@gudfsfs

I totally feel you pain.

ObsessedFanNovember 20, 2013, 4:09 PM EST.

Comment ID #266826

@Alpharius
I think Augustus made some good points but I also find him a bit sketchy. I think there were some moments when he was trying to hurt her not help her. I do appreciate that he told her multiple times that killing herself would be stupid! And he even ran up on the roof to “save” her.

Does no one remember Zach from Acapulco? I really think he may have been the first one to tell her that she needed to move on. WHERE IS HE??! He was pretty level headed. And he took is own advice cause he got the girl.

ObsessedFanNovember 20, 2013, 4:15 PM EST.

Comment ID #266827

@ jhornbo2
That’s what I said. He is crumbling: but he is not done yet. There is a part of him that has realized, but his cerebellum is still tottering on. I’s going to be a while yet before he is truly sorry.

@Alpharius
He did apologize to Lucy, but it was not a real one. He apologized by rote: because he felt obliged to, and because that’s what he did every time after they fought. He still has not consciously realized what he did. He does not understand exactly how it feels. He made Lucy believe that she was a parasite, and useless, and a bully. She internalized that, and it ended up as self-loathing. He does not understand that yet. When he does, he is going to implode. I hope his “friends” are there for him then.

LordofryeNovember 20, 2013, 4:17 PM EST.

Comment ID #266828

OK!
I´m dizzy now :-s

Mr-Hero-BioNovember 20, 2013, 4:18 PM EST.

Comment ID #266829

Oh Mike, you and your Deretsun personality, soft on the outside but exploding when things don’t go your way.
They have always been your friends, but what would you do if they saw that you were abandoning someone you had a crush for years (who is also their friend) for someone who you haven’t seen since elementary school and you ever rarely see even now.
Also it’s funny that you say that Lucy was clinging to you for loneliness when in fact Sandy seem to be doing the exact same thing.
But don’t listen to me Mike, keep living your little fantasy and push away everything that mess with it.

MoonlightNovember 20, 2013, 4:18 PM EST.

Comment ID #266830

Suddenly
Pineapples!

Mr-Hero-BioNovember 20, 2013, 4:19 PM EST.

Comment ID #266831

@Tylord

The physical abuse is word of Taeshi so combined with December I’m pretty confused as to why you would just say it’s not cannon.

ZaywexNovember 20, 2013, 4:19 PM EST.

Comment ID #266832

Mike, please drop the act. Your plan has collapsed, you thought that everyone will drop Lucy, but instead you are the one who’s gonna get dropped instead. Nobody’s gonna pity you, because everyone gets what a snake you are, and guess what you deserve *******. Yeah, Lucy did messed up stuff, but she didn’t verbally destroy you, and then act like everyone is gonna join her on some crusade against you. So you know what, how bout you grow a frickin’ pair, take your lumps and start eating your bowl of crow.

KanasheNovember 20, 2013, 4:20 PM EST.

Comment ID #266833

@ Moonlight
It was not just that one time. Mike’s friends constantly supported Lucy in almost every argument. It wore on him after a while.

LordofryeNovember 20, 2013, 4:20 PM EST.

Comment ID #266834

@lordofyre of course she does. Unfortunatly it’s just a case of too little too late, and I mean that quite litterally rather then as some “you went to far” moral stand. If she’d reached that point a bit earlier it might have made all the differance. It doesn’t help though that she never really appologized to Mike for mistreating him. Of course she is remorseful over it and props for seeing the error of your ways and what not, but maybe of she led off with “Mike I’m sorry I’ve been an abusive friend” rather the “Mike I love you” things would have gone a lot better. Ultimately it’s something that might have been properly resolved in the proper talk Mike wanted to have with her after the play. It’s just a shame it didn’t pan out.

So yeah, Lucy does get a lot of credit for trying to be better, but she never really did try to properly resolve the past. It’s important to change and admit to yourself you were wrong, but it often doesn’t mean much if you don’t let other people know you were wrong too. She didn’t do that last part very effectively and Mike continued to treat her by the old standards she set rather then the new standards she was trying to live up too.

Alpharius November 20, 2013, 4:24 PM EST.

Comment ID #266835

wow, what a surprise… mike is 100% right in this case, and so many worthless mother****ers decide to immdiately jump on his *** and call him a drama queen, say he’s wrong, and other total ********.

yet you paulo ****ers don’t say the same things about paulo when HE is being a hypocrite *********…

this comic has possibly created one of the worst fanbases in the world.

ThanatosNovember 20, 2013, 4:25 PM EST.

Comment ID #266836

Kanashe,

Hope you can take your own advice (eat crow) if it turns out he did just score some sympathy and does end up with them trying to be better friends to him. I mean at the very least we know that maybe Daisy is sympathizing with him (maybe, need to see the next page to see what happens). Also Sue’s face does look like she might feel guilty. At least it does to me.

buchanen_neketNovember 20, 2013, 4:25 PM EST.

Comment ID #266837

If I can be the only frikken one here to make a comment ‘not’ concerning the characters…

For some reason the “blushed” splodges of colour on the faces stand out on this page….and not in a good way. Sue’s in particular looks weird, and out of place.

Comment ID #266838

Comment ID #266839

Comment ID #266840

@ Herumph mike said it out of rage and hate just like paulo is doing now. That’s not cool.

Blue foxNovember 20, 2013, 4:31 PM EST.

Comment ID #266841

@lordofyre missed your reply while writting my initial post -_-

I’d disagree about his motivations for apologizing, but I think the specific situation is open enough for either of us to be right really. Missing out on that post apology talk leaves a lot to interpretation as to where Mike’s head was at.

At the very least thought I think he does understand what he did. He has had his implosion as you put it, just after leaving the hospital. He may not be reflecting on that right now, but between heat of the moment, the alcohol trying to deal with being physically attacked, can you blame him for being more concerned about his own position at this moment? In a reasoned discussion amoung trusted friends I’m sure he’d have much more of a focus on how aweful he was to her.

Alpharius November 20, 2013, 4:32 PM EST.

Comment ID #266842

@buchanen_neket

I frickin’ hope not, last thing we need is this twatwaffle getting some sympathy, when he doesn’t deserve any of it. All the people who are saying how Mike has a point, and that his friends should have stuck by him? Yeah, that’s a huge load, the guy deserves a good slap across the face, a punch in the gut and a kick in his nads. Maybe then he’ll be worth a squirt of ****.

KanasheNovember 20, 2013, 4:32 PM EST.

Comment ID #266843

Daisy

TealjoyNovember 20, 2013, 4:35 PM EST.

Comment ID #266844

@Kanashe:
Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends.
— J. R. R. Tolkien

jhornb02November 20, 2013, 4:36 PM EST.

Comment ID #266845

I see a kind of role reversal going on here. Mike is pushing away his friends and questioning whether the hung out with him for him or for Lucy, kind of like how Lucy used to question whether interactions with others were based on her personality or her body. While (earlier) Lucy started showing her sensitive side and not questioning the nature of her friendship with the other members of the group and becoming relatively nice. I am not saying that they will become exactly like their past selves but they are pretty similar.

On another note I feel Mike really got shafted in the Main story line. I do not blame Lucy for this, I blame the group. They are biased towards him. In the first Volume the did not make a very big deal of Mike’s love of Lucy, they even teased him for it. When he got a girlfriend they did not take any real notice, they were sort of indifferent to it. Then when Lucy confessed every one went ape **** on Mike, not really taking into account his situation and feelings. Now I understand Lucy was in a weak state emotionally but so was Mike, he let his anger get the best of him which was a totally human (cat) thing to do and even after he saw what he did was wrong he tried to make amends. For the people arguing that he pushed her over the edge you are right, but he was only the straw that broke the camels back and it was a well earned straw at that. There was already so much emotional baggage Lucy carried with her over the years, mostly caused by other group members and childhood shunning, under a mask of Tough Independence that nobody but Mike could see through.

NormalNovember 20, 2013, 4:36 PM EST.

Comment ID #266846

They should all calm the **** down or go outside to solve their differences.
Rach’s party is ruined

If I was Mike I would simply say goodbie and leave for now, there really is no other way for things to get better. …for him, or the rest.

SakuraNovember 20, 2013, 4:41 PM EST.

Comment ID #266847

@Lordofrye

Friends sometimes can see things different to you. Sometimes they can be wrong. But tell me, of all those arguments, how many times was he really on the right.
Good friends should try to point it out if they think you are wrong, not side with you just because you are friends.

Of course, I’m not defending Lucy actions. She has a serious problem with the way she acts when people tries to aproach or make fun of her. She needs to realice that the world isn’t against her and she need to open up to her friends, because yes, they are her friends, even when sometimes they do stupid things.

MoonlightNovember 20, 2013, 4:46 PM EST.

Comment ID #266848

Can we just all agree that Mike, Lucy, ‘n friends are all completely messed up in various ways and all contributed to their own individual problems because TEENAGERS HAVE NO CLUE HOW LIFE WORKS

MightyenaNovember 20, 2013, 4:53 PM EST.

Comment ID #266849

Yeah Mike, girls follow you around at school - three girls have admitted their love for you. Lucy got the **** beaten out of her protecting you. Then your friends criticize you for being an *** to the person who cares about you most in the world and BAM! You’re friends have never treated you like friends and you’re miserable.

ChinatsuNovember 20, 2013, 4:53 PM EST.

Comment ID #266850

Honestly wouldn’t surprise me if Mike is going to yell at Daisy on the next page like he always did when she tried to help him.

StyNovember 20, 2013, 4:54 PM EST.

Comment ID #266851

@Lordofrye
Nobody has ever been so right

FallenLove123November 20, 2013, 4:56 PM EST.

Comment ID #266852

As far I know, they sure are being jerks for trying to help Lucy and Mike get along. Heck, even Paulo can be a jerk to Lucy and calls her a drama queen over it and encouraged her to tell Mike shes sorry and all.
Also when Daisy tried to push Mike to get along with Lucy, he was the one lashing out at her and make her run home crying. Was she supposed to praise him for that? Aside of that she made the group study for a reason to cheer up everyone including Mike. That sure was “jerkish” of her alright
Lets face it, the way Mike points out drama is the drama he wants to happen just to whine more over and become more bitter than he already is.
I really don’t like how he tries to get the group side eather with him or Lucy instead of getting along with everyone already
Yeah, I didn’t like the abuse he got in first volume but neather do I like the **** storm he’s causing no matter what sytuation

EvilKitty3November 20, 2013, 4:56 PM EST.

Comment ID #266853

Next panel: Either Mike starts crying, runs, or yells and kills them a’.

SakuraNovember 20, 2013, 5:01 PM EST.

Comment ID #266854

@Sakura
No, next panel Abbey broke his heart

SelefNovember 20, 2013, 5:03 PM EST.

Comment ID #266855

Reading through this mess, I finally understand how the comments sections here work! People say different yet valid things, but instead of bringing their individual valid things together to form a big whole, ignore everyone else’s valid things because it’s not THEIR valid thing, and argue over whose thing is more valid. Meanwhile, someone spites something for the sake of spiting spite spite spite, but thankfully are mostly ignored so there’s that.

Internets are silly.

MysterionNovember 20, 2013, 5:03 PM EST.

Comment ID #266856

The heck did Amaya do to you Mike?

SnowyPaintNovember 20, 2013, 5:05 PM EST.

Comment ID #266857

And the flame wars within the comments panel ensues. Oh for the love of Gaia people, your most of you are forgetting that this is a [b]Web Comic[/b], yeah I know a few of my posts have been a knocking edge of blames and what not but people are taking this far to harshly.
Mike is in titled to his own opinion, even if that opinion is a drunken one. When people fight facts are often overlooked and it isn’t until after the final resolution is handed down where people actually see the light and the wrong of their actions. There’s no undoing what he has said or done, we can rage at each other for hours (which is pretty much what you all have down) but at the end of the day its @Taeshi’s story let her tell it.
The way I look at it they (talking about Mike and Lucy) were both in the wrong. Lucy’s issues lead her in the wrong direction about her ‘clingyness’ towards Mike. However it was how mike took and festered the abuse for years and finally blew up that caused mike’s downfall. I love all of Taeshi’s characters and while there’s one missing character, there’s a whole bunch more that are still trying to find a way to function properly without a person that was apart of their lives and made an impact positively and/or negatively.
And for the love of Gaia will you please let Taeshi tell her story! Shes using this perspective for a reason people, basic reading comprehension will show you that.
Sorry Taeshi… I’m loving your story… I’m just tired of the commentary flame war… I realize everyone is entitled to their own respective opinions but its kinda getting out of hand.

carcinoGeneticistNovember 20, 2013, 5:06 PM EST.

Comment ID #266858

To all of you who are saying that Mike is absolutely right and that everything’s about Lucy and everything is forgiven to Lucy, let me refresh your memory a little, okay?
Firstable, even if Lucy was constantly insulting him, Mike had his part on it too. He was constantly provoking her and telling her offensive things too, she wasn’t the only one, though Lucy was clearly the most ‘showy’ with that. And I’m not saying is bad at all. It was always on a joking tone because they never really got mad at each other because of that. Even if Lucy picked up on Mike sometimes it was exactly the same. They argued for a while about insignificant stuff and then went to make their normal life, because both of them assumed it wasn’t something serious. But let’s guess it actually was serious…Why didn’t he ask her to stop? If they were friends, an honest and kind approach would have been enough to make her understand. He never did, maybe because he himself never really saw it as a big deal? because it wasn’t?
Also, even when she said somewhat ‘cruel’ (not really) things, it wasn’t like she was never nice to him, she WAS sweet and caring, just on her way, a way that her friends understood.
Even more. Remember the Confrontation arc? Yeah, how she stood up for him? Got beaten up and almost raped?
Remember that time at Acapulco, when Lucy expressed clearly to him how scared she was of losing him?

Anyway, I may be the weird one here, but my bestfriend and I are always picking up on each other and mocking each other and insulting each other jokingly, ALL THE TIME, and we love eachother a lot, we stand up for eachother whenever is needed and are always there for the other, because that’s what friendship is. And I honestly can’t remember one single time Lucy had said something hurtful to him, just joking stuff that was actually shared, returned and fed by Mike. She actually stood up for him whenever it was needed, she never rejected him like he did several times when she was being friendly.
Now you can say she hit him…well, it is kind of an humorous Lucy’s trait for the comic, isn’t it? Like in anime. But anyway, she used to hit everyone and with some sort of justification. Anyway, she stopped doing it looong before Mike got bored of it so yeah.
Also, what happens with the times she tried to approach him on a friendly and normal way and he rejected her blatantly? If he was mad because she had “mistreated him” all that time, seeing Lucy sincerely regret it and try to open up to him and show him how much she really cared (like she always did, re-read the damn comic from the start will you?) should have been enough like to at least touch him.

And about the friends issue. A good friend wouldn’t support Mike on the way he handled the situation, even more when they viewed Lucy’s attitude as something normal. They never expressed feeling uncomfortable towards the way Lucy was. Plus, we’re talking about what made their friend go to the hospital and move away, so sorry, but of course they’re going to feel disturbed by that, they lost their friend because of what Mike is telling so it wouldn’t be normal for them to go “Oh don’t worry Mike, we understand you had to insult Lucy on a way she never used with you, destroy PURPOSELY her self esteem and confidenc and make her feel worthless and lonely, we’re on your side, we didn’t want her to be our friend anyway”. Because really? I think you’re defending Mike blindly.

Also, this is fiction so calm down.

JerkfaceNovember 20, 2013, 5:06 PM EST.

Comment ID #266859

@ Moonlight
Niether of them were in the right most of the time. Often, they just bickered. However, Mike’s friends sided with Lucy no matter who was right. I have no idea why, but it’s the reason that Mike is saying this.
@Mightyena
I’m their age and I can see what’s going on there. These teenagers would understand more about their situation if they actually looked at it. Do not just look: Observe.
@FallenLove123
Thank you. I try.
@ Jerkface
I don’t agree with Mike’s actions. Not one bit. However, I forgive him because I put myself in his shoes. It’s obvious that Lucy ended up hurting him by repeatedly calling him names, and insulting him. She tried to repent, but at that point he had been driven past some line of his. Plus, I’m not saying that his friends should support him here. I’m saying that they should have supported him at some point ever. Right now, they need to forgive him, and make sure to be there when the whiplash happens.

LordofryeNovember 20, 2013, 5:07 PM EST.

Comment ID #266860

I have officially gave up trying to understand the amounts of right and wrong mike has. I’ll rely on the comic alone, it’s better. good luck with the debates, lol

this is my final statement about the matter: I agree with the thesis “mike expects people to read his mind”. really, if he never complained about lucy and even defended her from other people’s criticisms in the past, what can he expect? reread the entire comic and tell me what the others were supposed to do (or don’t tell me, I want to get out of the debates >_>). remember that, after he officially confirmed sandy’s existence by showing them a photo, they immediately stopped being mad at him for having rejected lucy.

boh...November 20, 2013, 5:07 PM EST.

Comment ID #266861

I think Amaya just had the misfortune of accidentally being in the blast radius, snowypaint.

@jerkface,

“Remember the Confrontation arc? Yeah, how she stood up for him? Got beaten up and almost raped?
Remember that time at Acapulco, when Lucy expressed clearly to him how scared she was of losing him?”

Remember that it was mike who had to save her from being raped in confrontation

Remember it was mike who nearly lost his life when he saved lucy in Acapulco

Love the fact that you point out the same thing I’ve been repeatedly railing on today.

Comment ID #266862

Comment ID #266863

@ Blue Fox
So you’re saying since Paulo is treating him like he treated Lucy, Mike does have reason to have a breakdown and have an outburst like this, just like Mike’s comments made Lucy breakdown?

HerumphNovember 20, 2013, 5:10 PM EST.

Comment ID #266864

I think mike finally read the comment section on the last few chapters.

BornAgainNovember 20, 2013, 5:12 PM EST.

Comment ID #266865

Can we take a moment here to acknowledge how well Taeshi personifies teenagers? I mean, jesus wow. It’s not all frivolous crap that appears in some other comics out there. It doesn’t just focus on relationships and end there, she really succeeds in giving her characters depth and layering their behaviors to the point where her readers can and do have heated debates and conversations about them.
Not only that, but she addresses real-life problems and real-life habits that teenagers have, which doesn’t appear in a lot of comics, or as far as I’ve seen.
Taeshi, thank you for making such an intense, addictive comic. Your story continues to amaze me with every page you publish, and I’m often caught analyzing your characters just as so many other readers vocally do here in the comment section.

MidnightSunNovember 20, 2013, 5:14 PM EST.

Comment ID #266866

@etyb
That tvtropes page is pure gold

HerumphNovember 20, 2013, 5:14 PM EST.

Comment ID #266867

@buchanen_neket long time no see and agree to the Amaya statement. She’s only there because Sue is… poor Amaya…

carcinoGeneticistNovember 20, 2013, 5:17 PM EST.

Comment ID #266868

@boh…
indeed they suddenly left Lucy in cold when finding out that Mike has a real girlfriend… cept Sue, or she at least tried cheer her up with a slushy

EvilKitty3November 20, 2013, 5:20 PM EST.

Comment ID #266869

People should calm down now. Yeah I’ve lashed out once (but some people seem to want so see it as I’ve lashed out like 50 times or something ) but I think people should calm down and listen to some music.

Comment ID #266870

Comment ID #266871

Mike and Daisy people. Adorable! Knew there was a reason I loved those two.

VolnuttN7November 20, 2013, 5:29 PM EST.

Comment ID #266872

“Bittersweet Candy Bowl, Lucy’s past habits of violence. She got better. Also eventually deconstructed with how this affected Mike’s opinion of her in the long run; he becomes very bitter, to the point where his repeated rejections and denials of her feelings for him become emotionally abusive.”
“You’d have trouble convincing a lot of the fans of Lucy’s misbehavior though”

Comment ID #266877

Comment ID #266878

Oh look, Mike’s still an *******. Even after crying about what he did.

asdfNovember 20, 2013, 5:52 PM EST.

Comment ID #266879

NOOOOO! Daisy you were the chosen one. The one with the at least semi-stable relationship

IvanovNovember 20, 2013, 5:53 PM EST.

Comment ID #266880

My take on the seemingly different stances on physical violence over the course of BCB: In the beginning it was played for laughs when Taeshi was younger, then at some point she looked at what was being done and thought that maybe it’d be an interesting/good idea to see what happens if it’s played seriously.
This means that in order to explain Mike’s apparent okay-ness with the physicality, he’s portrayed as being in denial, which is a stage that can be found in real life in even more serious cases than this one (especially in relationships where the abused still thinks “It’s alright, because he/she still loves me really”). Upon recieving an outside view of the scenario, courtesy of concerned (although maybe a little too ott) girfriend Sandy, who lets him know that it is not a good situation to be in. Mike seems to decide to be more assertive, and make his own decisions, but in doing so he acts more like a jerk towards Lucy, which is a mistake on his part. In his attempt to be more assertive and sure of himself, he refuses to back down on his position taken, and so talks himself into believing that he really does hate Lucy (whereas I believe that he really was just super-irritated at her after putting up with the violence and crap for too long). In this spiral of increasing self-created anger he draws upon small, yet still significant, events where it seems that life in always in favour of Lucy: His friends wanted to force him to get together with Lucy, even when he has refused .(Note that it’s never said that they specifically want him to break up with Sandy, but they just always seem to forget or dismiss his relationship and so don’t consider it when they confront him.) This seems like they value Lucy’s happiness (being with Mike) more than Mike’s (not being with Lucy), and so it seems like they take her side. Even when it dies down, it still happened, so it’ll still be a memory and a sore point for Mike.
Now since he’s drunk, Mike’s Judgement is impaired, and so he may mix up his antagonism with Paulo and apply it to the whole group. Thinking about the times when Paulo sics the ‘cheater squad’ on him, and also uses violence, and is just generally sometimes a jerk (as he is generally, but of course Mike only thinks of thetimes that relate to himself). Then again we haven’t really seen much major support for Mike from the group in casual life, they just seem to pester him about Lucy at times, which bugs him a lot. Now in this situation Mike reveals his actions (which he has regretted, and apologised for, directly to Lucy no less.) and he gets punched and jumped on by Paulo straight off then bat. That’s obviously gonna **** off">******** almost any drunk person, regardless of any previous frienemyship between people(cats?).
This is a bit of an incoherent ramble, but it’s mostly just a recap of why Mike might possibly feel antagonised. And believe me, I can come up with some pretty similar stuff for Lucy. They’re kids, have moments of extreme stupidity, and say and do things they regret pretty quickly. They get emotional, and worked up, and the whole world seems against them at some points, and it’s a pretty tough time in life emotionally. Don’t be so judgemental of them, ‘kay. (applies to haters of either Lucy or Mike).

BarbedFireNovember 20, 2013, 5:54 PM EST.

Comment ID #266881

(So… his argument, for making Lucy feel like she was alone, was that he was alone… his argument for all her friends joining him, was that they were all actually her friends and didn’t like him? … … … … I think I’m just going to give up on Mike now.

And the problem isn’t his being angry. The problem isn’t his standing up for himself. The problem isn’t even that he’s being an idiot, because Paulo acts like a moron a lot of the time and I don’t hate him. The problem is Mike never accepts the responsibility of his own actions anymore. It’s always someone else’s fault that he’s being victimized. He never accepts responsibility, and because he never accepts responsibility he never takes control, and then he becomes the victim… a self-perpetuating victim of the world who has a girlfriend, stable home life, parents, and can afford to go to parties.

Mike has a right to feel what he’s feeling. If he felt that Lucy was abusing him, he had a right to confront her about it. But he didn’t treat that like a mutual thing, he made it all her fault, and did everything he could to rip her apart. Now everybody else is angry at him, and it’s all their fault, none of his for what he did. He makes what he does everybody else’s fault… … And he’s probably never going to stop doing that. At least when Paulo screws up, and he does often, he doesn’t shift blame onto someone else.

AllsmilesNovember 20, 2013, 5:59 PM EST.

Comment ID #266882

I-I…..

What?

Anna-B-ChanNovember 20, 2013, 6:03 PM EST.

Comment ID #266883

This all could have been avoided if hadn’t convinced to date other girls, if his friends hadn’t tried to push them X shipping together and had instead accepted X shipping instead

SeoqNovember 20, 2013, 6:11 PM EST.

Comment ID #266884

Allsmiles (and part of this to all those who keep saying he’s got a good life),

I have to disagree on a couple things. One, is it really shifting the blame if there is truth behind what he’s saying? He’s not denying what he did to lucy, he’s not even saying the two are related. He’s replying to Paulo’s question of “how can you make her feel alone.” by stating she wasn’t the only one. Again he is NOT saying he did what he did because he felt alone. He’s saying that he felt just as alone as he made her feel. I guess that’s what i’m trying to say kind of hard to figure out how to explain that lol.

Two and this is the part for everyone saying mike has a good life. HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT? All we really know is he has Sandy, that’s pretty much it. This is because the first part of the comic heavily revolved around Lucy and because of this, Mike’s role was really just another window into another aspect of Lucy. As such we really don’t have that much intel on Mike outside his occasional interactions with Lucy. I mean has anyone seen his pop? What if his parents are in the middle of a divorce? That’d **** up a kids life. Etc and so forth. I could go on in that line of questioning but the point i’m trying to make is maybe his life isn’t going that great outside of Sandy. Maybe there are problems at home, maybe his personal life isn’t sunshine and roses.

buchanen_neketNovember 20, 2013, 6:19 PM EST.

Comment ID #266885

@ Seoq
That’s what I think. This could have been semi-happy at this point if not for David. That’s why I dislike him. He is my least favorite character.

LordofryeNovember 20, 2013, 6:20 PM EST.

Comment ID #266886

I wonder what Mike would’ve done if Paulo hadn’t attacked him? I get the feeling that he was owning up to what he had done, and was willing to talk about it and accept his actions, but then the first response he got was a fist to the face. I can completely agree with his actions here, especially since he’s drunk, likely just spilled his heart out - and then is treated with nothing but utter contempt the moment he finishes speaking.

I feel as though a lot of people would probably respond in the same manner, if they were put in the same situation. He’s finally decided to explain what occurs (which is a sign that he was now willing to talk it out and come to terms with his actions), and then POW. Punch to the face is the very firs reaction. Talk about low morale.

ToodlesNovember 20, 2013, 6:20 PM EST.

Comment ID #266887

why’s everyone hating mike so much, yeah he over did it when he blew up at lucy, but he’d finally realized it was an ABUSIVE relationship, HELLO!? LUCY “The victim” beat him up on an almost daily basis! put yourself in his shoes you’d explode after years of that too. He believes he’s the victim because no matter how many times they SAW her hit him, when he ever had a go at her for it, who did everyone normally side with? Lucy, thats what he’s on about, she as ALWAYS right and he was labelled the JERK even by all you guys who want him dead

omega445November 20, 2013, 6:22 PM EST.

Comment ID #266888

I support Mike here because he basically did almost exactly what I would have done if i were at this party. Ugh. I don’t like many of his decisions, but he is doing the best possible thing right now.

LordofryeNovember 20, 2013, 6:23 PM EST.

Comment ID #266889

Look.
Mike went over the line, that’s a fact.
But Lucy hurt him as well- also a fact.
But Mike NEVER, in the comic at least, told her it bothered him until December. Never.
Communication is a must- and that’s just it, they -didn’t- communicate.
Another thing, though? Waaaaay back, in Confrontation, you may have forgotten, but I certainly haven’t.
Lucy protected Mike. She took the beating, she could have been raped- she nearly was- and the guy was strangling her. But she let it happen. For Mike.
So don’t you DARE say she didn’t care about him. She may not have been the best friend ever, but dammit, she wasn’t the -worst- friend ever, either.
That was before she loved him. Back when he still loved her. She protected him. Sure, she was sometimes a bitch. But, from what I have seen from this comic- no one EVER taught her to be anything else, no one EVER told her she was behaving wrongly. Not until December- not until it was too bloody late.
Don’t hate Mike.
But don’t hate Lucy, either.

Shadow LadyNovember 20, 2013, 6:26 PM EST.

Comment ID #266890

Why do I feel like this story is ending…. PLEASE DONT END IT TAESHI

BLACKOUTNovember 20, 2013, 6:27 PM EST.

Comment ID #266891

Hi to you all.

As this is my very first comment on BCB, I’d like to thank Taeshi for great art, interesting story and surprising plot twists that make this comic interesting enough to come back to on daily basis and wait for another update with a considerable amount of impatience.

It strikes me how both in this comic and in real life people lack the courage to put down their masks for a minute, sit down and talk honestly about their feelings. Trying to protect themselves, they only become more vulnerable from the inside up to the point when negative emotions take over and the damage done is hard to compensate. I’m not talking only about Mike, but Paulo, Lucy and others as well.

I guess such ability is a sign of maturity and we’re talking about teenagers here, so let us hope they grow up to be happy someday

I am really worried about Lucy though - how she handles things all by herself, away from the rest. I hope she’ll be OK…

OltarNovember 20, 2013, 6:28 PM EST.

Comment ID #266892

What a liar.

GooltheFoolNovember 20, 2013, 6:29 PM EST.

Comment ID #266893

Mike, do you not remember how many times these very kids have saved or tried to save your life with no regard for their own? Lucy? Paulo? Sue? Or how many begged and longed for your attention and you completely ignored them and brushed them off? Lucy? Stacy? Daisy? Or how devastated everyone was when they thought you might have died?

If these aren’t people that you would consider friends, then you have set your standards way too high. Nobody is perfect. Not you, not Lucy, Sue, Daisy, Paulo, not even Sandy. Everyone has their flaws, and it’s about time you mature up and see that. If life seems to want to kick you around, then give it a reason not to. Realize your own flaws and work towards fixing them. Don’t sit there and cry or throw a tantrum blaming everyone else and cursing your life. Do something constructive with it. Pride doesn’t do anything, motivation does.

QsandasNovember 20, 2013, 6:31 PM EST.

Comment ID #266895

Yea man, daisys goin for the reconciliation award

McturtleNovember 20, 2013, 6:32 PM EST.

Comment ID #266896

oh man i’m probably the only one on this boat but i cannot stand daisy nope not one bit

isabelleNovember 20, 2013, 6:34 PM EST.

Comment ID #266897

oh for the love of Christ how many times do I have to say this. Yes Lucy “protected” mike in confrontation, but ultimately it was Mike who had to protect her WHILE HE WAS INTOXICATED and against much larger opponents. Stop trying to use that as an argument because it kind of falls flat when you realize who had displayed the higher degree of courage in the situation.

Actually technically it would be more one was brave and one was courageous. Going by the idea that “Bravery is doing something you’re too stupid to realize you should be scared to do, courage is knowing you should be afraid but act anyways”. When Lucy engaged she had a false confidence because she thought she had an advantage. Mike on the other hand had to know he was going into a bad situation but acted anyways. So in the example everyone loves to use, Lucy displayed bravery and Mike displayed courage.

buchanen_neketNovember 20, 2013, 6:34 PM EST.

Comment ID #266900

Amaya is just like “what’d I ever do to you?”

kamiNovember 20, 2013, 6:51 PM EST.

Comment ID #266901

@buchanen_neket - The point is not “who was brave and who was courageous”. The point that Shadow Lady was making was that Lucy risked herself to help him even though she could have taken the others and run. It was his stupid bet that got them in trouble in the first place, but she chose to stand up for him and chase the thugs off.

Whether she succeeded or not is NOT the point, neket. The point is that she TRIED. She CARED. And Mike is completely forgetting that in light of the “abuse” he suddenly feels she was doing - even though he was hitting back and he never thought it was abuse until Sandy, who only knew HIS side, said she didn’t like how Lucy was always hurting him. Do you think he EVER told Sandy that he hit Lucy? No, to Sandy he was a saint and Lucy was a brute.

Until Lucy sent that text and revealed her true, kinder-than-Mike-had-made-her-out-to-be nature to Sandy and when Mike found out he said Lucy should die for “interfering”. Sandy slapped him good for that, and for good reason. In her eyes, he was acting like the brute when Lucy was being the nice one.

And think back to when he said Sandy was coming in December. She was HAPPY for him, but he took it as her being sarcastic and irritable and yelled at her before putting on a happy-face to talk to his mom about the visit. He didn’t want to be friends again. He only ever tried to reconcile because Sandy said to, and even THAT attempt was half-baked and Lucy saw right through it. So, she sent a nice text to Sandy and then vanished from his life.

He thinks no one cares about him, but he’s blind and stupid. Everyone cares, and who the hell is going to understand his feelings if he bottles it up? As far as everyone knew, the play-fighting was a GOOD thing for them. A bonding experience. Because Mike. Hit. Back. And if he’s being so brutal to Lucy, do we really want him with Sandy? One or two misunderstandings, and he’ll go from “Oh, Sandy, you’re a saint” to “Sandy, you’re such a monster” or “Sandy, you’re such a ****”.

She’s a model. She’ll be posing with guys. Do you think he’ll handle that well?

Comment ID #266902

Comment ID #266903

@buchanen_neket
Mike is being both an ******* and a drama queen. I would know. I was once just like him.

From the third to seventh grade I was almost constantly bullied by various people. When I snapped, I said the exact same stupid **** that Mike is saying right now, to the letter. Never, ever had any meaning. Just some drama and bullpuckery and absolutely noone took it seriously, not the teachers, not the other students, not even myself. The fact that Daisy acted on it and showed that she truly cared is more than concrete evidence that Mike was completely wrong.

Get that into your system and then come back and say something.

Mickey the LuxrayNovember 20, 2013, 7:12 PM EST.

Comment ID #266904

Whenever I read this comic, it feels like it would be emotionally draining for Vero/Taeshi. Not only from creating drama in the comic and making sure every character stays themselves, but also from the fans commenting with drama and people criticizing her work whether they know it or not.

Thanks for sticking with us crazy fans so far!

Gabria93November 20, 2013, 7:13 PM EST.

Comment ID #266905

I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So Mike made Lucy feel isolated because they always made HIM feel all alone.

That’s why he said “It’d make for two of us” in the last page after Paulo was yelling at him!

MINDBLOWN.

But that’s just acting out of jealousy. Mike didn’t make Lucy feel alone because she abused him often, it was because he thought everyone only liked Lucy and he also thought they only saw HIM as a parasite sticking to Lucy!!!

Ok. Things finally clicked. But I’m on no one’s side now. I wanna see more Augustus :3

Gabria93November 20, 2013, 7:19 PM EST.

Comment ID #266906

@buchanen_neket

I always enjoy your twisted logic.

“Mike didn’t have a perfect life. I’m sure since he’s acting this way he probably has a terrible home life that the readers have obviously seen due to his very understanding mother, decent house, cute kid brother, and adorable girlfriend. His life must be SO HARD for him to do this to Lucy.”

Yes. If this is the way you read into clues that are not even there, I’m going to act like you and start assuming Daisy is a crack addict. I have no evidence, no proof, but hell there hasn’t been any evidence showing her stance towards drugs so SHE MIGHT BE A DRUG ADDICT.

Lol, but Lucy?

Can’t possibly be depressed, she’s just bitchin around despite the volumes of evidence in her insecurities, violence, and self-destructive behaviors that pretty much describe depression like a medical journal.

NOPE. THIS EVIDENCE DOESN’T COUNT. HRUMPH.

Lickit&stickitNovember 20, 2013, 7:21 PM EST.

Comment ID #266907

well zone, honestly the latter point was really me going off on a tangent, lol. But either way the main point I was making was why confrontation is not a good point to make ESPECIALLY when everybody who makes it refuses to acknowledge the full story. The way these guys tell it you’d think she deserves the damn MOH. However when you look at the full story it makes the point fall a bit flat. Also by “glossing” over parts they are showing a bias. If they want to make the argument they need to present the full story otherwise it’s just fluffing.

Now that said, you really seem to have a really biased view of Mike yourself. Kind of sounds like you don’t want to admit that maybe possibly that his apology was genuine and Sandy really acted more as the kick in the pants he needed to finally stop procrastinating what he knew he needed to do and go do it.

You also are blinding yourself to what many have pointed out, that throughout the run of the comic it’s been Mike who’s been there for his friends more than his friends that have been there for him.

And why does he bottle up his feelings, well let’s look at Mike’s life for a second. Let’s put his friends to the side for a sec and look at his home life. Now this is mostly speculation because we really don’t know a lot about his home life. But first his mother, i’m assuming she’s in a business-y line of work considering how we always see her dressed. She appears to be a single mother as we haven’t seen Mike’s dad, so she’s probably having to bust her hump to take care of her family. Therefore she’s not really going to be much to be an option to talk to about what’s going on in his life. His sister, forget about it, she thinks mike is just grumpy and being a drama queen. So there goes that option. Can’t really count his little brother. So taking that out, who does that leave for him to talk to about his problems. His “friends”, the guys who ALWAYS take Lucy’s side in an issue and since all his issues revolve around Lucy, yeah they’re out as an option for support.

So we’ve discounted his family and friends as an option for moral/emotional support. Sooooo, all that really leaves is his girlfriend Sandy and really the only character (outside of Tess) he can talk to and get advice or support on an issue. So yeah it’s pretty easy to see why he bottled up his emotions for so long, he had no outlet to safely release them.

That’s my two cents on your little rant.

buchanen_neketNovember 20, 2013, 7:21 PM EST.

Comment ID #266908

That is an emotional friend hug not an embrace.

FluffyNovember 20, 2013, 7:23 PM EST.

Comment ID #266909

Lickit&stickit,

*facepalm* You’ve never heard of a “what if” have you? Did I say that was the case? No I said it’s A POSSIBILITY because we don’t know anything about mike’s life outside of that which revolves around Lucy or Sandy. So for all we know something is ****** in his home life or a part of his personal life. This is running counter to everyone’s assumption that Mike has this perfect life. THUS, why I asked “how do you know this?”

Comment ID #266910

Comment ID #266911

@buchanen_neket

Actually, I’d say Mike has never been there for his friends. He’s been there for Lucy sure, but the others?

He ditched everyone for his long distance model. I mean, he was sooo nice to Daisy and Lucy about his rejections, and he was so nice to Paulo when he screwed up and Lucy decided to lean on him for support. And Mike was so nice to Abbey whenever they had that full out brawl over his mistreatment of Daisy’s feelings.

Name on time he was emotionally “there” for anyone but Lucy?

Lickit&stickitNovember 20, 2013, 7:33 PM EST.

Comment ID #266912

@buchanen_neket

Well considering you spent the past zillion comments explaining to everyone how his life must be SECRETLY really tough, I felt it necessary to point it out.

People think his life is perfect because look at the signs that it is. The comic has given us many reasons to believe that Mike is doing just fine. Outside of his deal with Lucy, it seems golden in his world. He looks healthy and happy until he realized he was an *******.

Lickit&stickitNovember 20, 2013, 7:36 PM EST.

Comment ID #266913

That’s kind of hard to name “on time” but a few chapters back when he was there for Paulo when he had a breakdown after he found out about Lucy. This was AFTER Paulo punched Mike.

Also again, what do we know? Did we know that Mike was capable of what he did in December? Did we know that Mike was harboring this kind of resentment towards his friends? As for the rest they are going off of one thing, he’s dating a model. I mean have you seen one of these guys say that Mike’s dating a great girl? Nope it’s always “he’s dating a model”, they always point out that she’s a model. As that’s every guys dream that makes his life going alright in their eyes when it could be the exact opposite that his life sucks and the only good thing is his beloved.

buchanen_neketNovember 20, 2013, 7:36 PM EST.

Comment ID #266914

@buchanen_neket

I would like to come back for a minute to your interpretation of “Confrontation” chapter. Where you judged Lucy as simply brave and Mike as being courageous?

Don’t you think you might be a bit unjust and it was the other way around?

You admitted yourself that Mike was intoxicated. He led his friends into this situation by being naive and careless. And went against these guys in the back alley because ‘you shouldn’t hit girls’ - well according to your own definition, that was bravery. Doing something too stupid to realize you should be scared to do it - or being too drunk to bother, for that matter.

As for Lucy, she had the right degree of confidence. After disabling both delinquents with a swift kick up the crotch, she and the rest could’ve simply get away from that hell hole, except that Mike was unconscious and the first thing she did after applying a technical K.O. to both assailants was to make sure he was OK. That unfortunately gave her opponent time to recover and ended in her being beaten and almost raped. She knew too well what she was up against. They were stronger. She was smarter, but had a weak spot and was fully aware of it - as well as she was aware of the risk she was putting herself into. She was doing it for Mike (quote: “I don’t care what you do to me as long as you stay away from him”) and for all of her friends (was telling Daisy to just not be noticed and get away) - not out of some false sense of bravado. That is what I call caurageous.

I will not deny that Mike’s bravery turned the tables in the end and it required both of them (Mike and Lucy) to end this fight in their favor, but I dare not imagine how it would have ended if Lucy haven’t done something in the first place after Mike being knocked cold.

It seems to me that you’ve gotten too far in protecting Mike as a victim and painting Lucy as an overconfident abuser. You may want to reconsider and be somewhat less biased.

OltarNovember 20, 2013, 7:41 PM EST.

Comment ID #266915

@buchanen_neket
Mike was courageous. I was not disputing that. Nor was I jumping on the Mike hate bandwagon.
But Lucy was courageous too. She -was- afraid. But here was her best friend, drunk, being pummeled, and she could do something about it- and she did.
I think Mike went overboard, but I don’t hate him. I think the -first- apology he made, was one made just because Sandy told him to. The next, however, I feel was genuine.
Also, in the Ask blog- http://askbcb.tumblr.com/post/56604376478- it is revealed that Mike’s parent’s -are- married, and have different work hours. Therefore, the ‘busts her hump to support her family’ argument is invalid.
Not that this says his life is perfect. Perhaps his dad’s a total *******, and that may well be a thing. But, then again, maybe not.
The point I was trying to make, was that Lucy wasn’t terrible. Not perfect, but neither is he. Of course they aren’t. But she tried. He protected her as well, but they -both- tried to protect each other.
Lucy developed a phobia of water because -he- got hurt. That doesn’t happen for someone you hate.

Shadow LadyNovember 20, 2013, 7:47 PM EST.

Comment ID #266916

Oltar,

I’d agree that it’s a possibility if it wasn’t for Lucy’s reaction afterwards. Her fear hit her AFTER the event was over. If she was being courageous then it wouldn’t have hit so hard because she’d already accepted the fear while assessing the situation. However she was being brave so when the situation went bad the effect hit her harder because she finally had to acknowledge how bad of a situation she was in. That’s actually kind of the MO for Lucy, look back to the river. She ended up having to be saved by Paulo because she jumped in head first without thinking. I’m not saying it’s a bad trait, i’m was just speculating on whether what she did was courageous or just brave.

And it’s starting to seem that the commenters here seem to think that because I defend Mike I must hate Lucy. I don’t, I think she was one messed up little kiddy that needed to get her *** chewed out. But that’s about it. Getting your *** chewed isn’t a bad thing, I got mine chewed by chiefs and captains and you know what I did? did I antagonize them or hate them? No, I learned from my mistake and moved on. I think she was a good kid who needed a major attitude adjustment. That’s it.

@shadowlady,

yeaaaah, I’ve never known if Askbcb is considered canon or not. Has it been made clear if it is or not?

buchanen_neketNovember 20, 2013, 7:49 PM EST.

Comment ID #266917

@evilkitty3

I sense a ”School Days” anime like that, if this was animated.

DambuilderNovember 20, 2013, 7:51 PM EST.

Comment ID #266918

Man, these cartoon cats are really stirring up emotions, huh.

MewsetteNovember 20, 2013, 8:00 PM EST.

Comment ID #266919

@buchanen_neket
I’m pretty sure the answers are, yes.

Shadow LadyNovember 20, 2013, 8:02 PM EST.

Comment ID #266920

So Lucy’s dad is a race car driver then?

buchanen_neketNovember 20, 2013, 8:07 PM EST.

Comment ID #266921

See kids? Drugs are bad. They make good people into ******** and ******** into bigger ******** and the biggest ******** into Mike.

Comment ID #266923

Also, Paulo deserved to get that punch in. He knew something was wrong with Lucy right away; he was the only one who followed up on figuring out why she wasn’t at Tess’s christmas party.

The christmas party is also when Susan started asking Mike if it was his fault that Lucy wasn’t there…she’s done so at least three times in total, now.

Mike is and perhaps always has been in denial.
Everyone says that Paulo is the womanizer. But look at Mike. Back before he started his long distance relationship. He totally allowed girls to hit on him all throughout the comic, but he only liked/ loved Lucy. And all this accomplished was making every girl with a crush on him, hate her. Even Daisy didn’t really like her. And Lucy knew it, because most people hated or ignored her anyway, with the exception of Paulo making her feel objectified, seeking her out just to hit on her. Did anyone else really go out of their way to talk to her? Not particularly. Daisy did, mostly because she wanted to get closer to Mike.

Middle school is when Lucy actually got physical. That creepy guy hit on her, and she decided that it would happen no longer. But what started out as self defense became a part of her personality, slowly but surely. Paulo learned all the wrong things from said creepy guy.

But lol you guys, Paulo was the one who had girls passing him back and forth like an object, so he got what he “deserved” for treating Lucy that way. Even though he was kidding when he was acting all jerky to her. Rachel and Jessica used him to get to Tess because they knew he was an easy target, knew he was vunerable. And then the only time Lucy wanted him was when she was rebounding so hard over Mike that she couldn’t think straight. Did he ever touch Jasmine? Barely! Why? He knows what’s right and what’s wrong, when it comes to treating people correctly. He will never actually treat someone badly. He hits Mike, but guys hit each other so they can get over it the next day and be friends again. As flawed as he may be, he isn’t half as immature as Mike.

Mike. The actual womanizer. Hanging out with girls who obviously like him, when he obviously isn’t looking for love. He just likes attention. Which is why he liked Lucy. She gave him attention. Sometimes negative, but always some form of attention. Enter: Sandy. She gave him only good attention; he likes her better, and treated Lucy the way he treated every other girl who obviously liked him. But when Sandy left? Right back to Lucy. He even admitted to treating her horribly. Mike’s issue is that he has the attention span of a gnat. He can only handle one person at a time….as a friend or otherwise. He can’t handle group dynamics. Does Mike ever do well in a crowd? No. He only is happy when he only has one thing he has to pay attention to. And when Lucy was in his room when Sandy texted him, he couldn’t handle two people both wanting his attention at once. I mean. Lucy made mistakes in that chapter too, she got too close to his face near his bed, putting pressure on him… and tried too hard to make things the way they had been…even after Augustus had JUST told her to accept his happiness from a distance. And I honestly think that Mike blew up at her partially because he was upset at the idea that he did still have feelings for her, but didn’t want to cheat on Sandy. And because of his history with Lucy, (they both confessed to each other at bad times)…He was trying to be a good boyfriend…by being a terrible person.

And for all those “mike fans” that are so proud of mike saying al those terrible things to his friends, just remember real life, my best friends are pure yerks 90% of the time, but when i ask for they support or when i need’em they’re always there, same for mike, they are his best friends and they had been there for him when he has needed them, the problem is that most of the times he didnt even bothered to told them what was the problem, what did he expected?he wanted them tu use their psychic powers to read his mind and see how troubled he was????? i know this is a comic, but LIFE ISN’T THAT WAY, you cant go trough it pretending to be the victim and snap out whenever you feel you’re been pushed, thats a terrible behaviour from him just terrible, if he really wanted lucy to stop picking on him he should have told her (like i have done with my friends), he never did, he just exploded one day and decided to push her to suicide, i supose that thas nice for all his fans.

And finally all of you who say that we don’t know how his family life is, you’re right we don’t really know, but we know how terrible abbey’s situation was, and we know that paulo lives alone with a probably alcoholic dad that he rarelly see, and yet they arent whining like little bitches and exploding whenever people push them.

So i guess even when he had been somehow a vital part in the story he’s still the biggest ********* that has ever lived in a webcomic.

Comment ID #266926

Hahahaha, and people are accusing me of conspiracy theories. That was a doozy Silver just laid on us. Yeah, mike’s a womanizer, sure and I guess Augustus is just misunderstood.

Uh huh chuck. So I guess Abbey’s stance on bullying and Paulo’s resorting to violence on the previous couple pages have absolutely NOTHING to do with their home lives and upbringing.

buchanen_neketNovember 20, 2013, 8:30 PM EST.

Comment ID #266927

You know when you think about it, Mike does have some truth to what he’s saying. He pretty much is the punching bag of the group. That stuff can bottle up inside a person and when it’s finally let out, it isn’t pretty. To be honest, I’m not sure if everything that’s transpiring here right now is due to being drunk, or if they’re sober enough.

WheatlyNovember 20, 2013, 8:33 PM EST.

Comment ID #266928

Oh, Daisy! This is why I love her . HOWEVER, there’s a bit of a drawback in this; Daisy is on Mike’s side in basically everything. Its probably because of her crush on him, but she pretty much ALWAYS preferred him over Lucy. So, its not much of a surprise that she’s the first one that goes and tries to comfort him. It’s always appreciated, but I don’t think being told “you’re right” is what Mike needs to hear right now.

A FRIEND is always by your side, but they also keep you in check. Tell you if you messed up or not. And you, as the friend of this person, should always do the same thing back. Why am I saying this? Because Mike REALLY needs to hear is that verbally SENDING SOMEONE INTO KILLING THEMSELVES IS WRONG. That’s a what a real friend would do, in my opinion, rather than take sides in the Mike-Lucy-agnst-issues drama. AND Mike needs TO ACCEPT THAT, because he’s basically concentrating in keeping his guilt away. This page made it pretty obvious; he confessed and then put up a defense to hide in, the moment Paulo started to punch him.

If Mike honestly feels like his friends are jerks to him (the same ones he had no problem with using to trap Lucy further into her depression), then…. well, just walk away, Mike. Find ones who you feel would a appreciate you. I just hope you do the same thing back, and not use them against someone like how you’re doing right now and in December. I understand that we all have our moments, but….. using your friends like that, and then saying that they suck the moment he feels they’ll gang up on him? I’m sorry, but… no, just no. That’s just SO MANY FORMS OF WRONG.

LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR, I AM NOT FAVORING LUCY. If the situation and roles were reversed between Mike and Lucy, I’m 100% certain I’d say the same thing about LUCY if SHE was using the gang as a way to one up Mike OR to defend herself from. Because that’s seriously wrong. Its one thing to do this if you feel like that, but its another to use it as a way to keep telling yourself “I didn’t do anything wrong”.

SubaruNovember 20, 2013, 8:39 PM EST.

Comment ID #266929

Mike as usual playing the victim in everything, if no one has noticed that his life has been “hard” whose fault is it? Who is to blame that there was no COMMUNICATION with his friends?

Even when Lucy was her friend he was always “OH POOR ME GIRLS HAVE A CRUSH ON ME! WOEFUL LIFE OF MINE!”

Friends are not mind readers, either you talk it out with them or you end up like Mike did, and Lucy is the most emotionally unstable of the group, so of course she has to take priority and… LOL

“I CAUSE LUCY TO GET HOSPITALIZED AND LEAVE TOWN FOR GOOD! BUT WHAT ABOUT ME AND MY TROUBLES!?!?!?”

Roler42November 20, 2013, 8:59 PM EST.

Comment ID #266930

@Roler42
Couldnt agree more my friend “gives high five”

Chuck U_UNovember 20, 2013, 9:05 PM EST.

Comment ID #266931

I have to say I completely agree with Subaru. I couldn’t say it any better myself.

Ember EclpiseNovember 20, 2013, 9:21 PM EST.

Comment ID #266932

I agree with Roler42, Mike is always acting pretty pitty, he need to mature a little more to know about his angst issues… And acept them.

OthonielNovember 20, 2013, 9:23 PM EST.

Comment ID #266933

Ok Mike may be exaggerating, they are not outright awful friends to him, but dude everyone is blaming him (once again- not outright, but you can tell) because how dare he not love Lucy back, how dare he stand up for himself after all those years of abuse? Everyone is victimizing Lucy because oh no Mike didn’t like her back… she confessed when he HAD A GIRLFRIEND, oh Mike, he’s just the WORST, staying loyal to one girl, how could he not return the feelings?? It’s not Mike’s fault he didn’t love Lucy. Honestly, why would you expect someone who youve been abusing your whole life, who is in a happy relationship no less, to love you back? It’s understandable that she was upset, but turning into a victim because someone doesn’t love you back is just no. (Mike definitely could’ve handled that situation more maturely- yes, but so could’ve Lucy.) And because LUCY was the one crying, everyone went on her side- I wouldn’t say they were always mean to Mike though, yeah, he always got the short end of the stick, but he wasn’t bullied by the rest of them all the time, they just went to Lucy because she was upset- which is not really the best reason considering they didn’t know the whole story.
Basically, everyone’s wrong!

ShieshNovember 20, 2013, 9:26 PM EST.

Comment ID #266935

@Shiesh - Their issue right now is not that he turned her down, but that he called her a parasite and said all her friends would turn against her and turn to him and leave Lucy to pretty much die alone. And now when they’re proving they’re NOT just HIS friends, he decides they’re not his friends at all and they must be the enemy. They’re angry because he drove her to that level of depression and now they may never see Lucy again, and he’s acting like he’s done nothing wrong and the world is against him. THAT’S why they’re angry. He was making progress, but now he’s backtracking and turning into a horrible person again like back in December and trying to claim he’s the innocent one being attacked and “no one in this group was ever his friend”. Dude, you are messed up and need to see someone about this narcissistic, “I’m always the victim” issue PRONTO.

He doesn’t deserve Sandy, he’ll only hurt her and drive her to the same level of depression the moment he finds a fault in her. I say his friends tell Sandy what Mike has done and see what she thinks of precious “Maishel” then.

ZoneNovember 20, 2013, 9:47 PM EST.

Comment ID #266936

@buchanen_neket I’m quite sure now that you have no idea what you’re defending, but you desperately want to sound like you do. You’re bouncing around, desperately trying to get a grip on something, just one thing that’d give you leverage against those who are opposing you. And that is sad, because before these past two pages I was starting to agree with you.

Mickey the LuxrayNovember 20, 2013, 9:55 PM EST.

Comment ID #266937

Just realized o.o Lucy left for Mike, so Mike could keep all his friends and wouldnt have to leave the table, so the group wouldnt have to split up! She did what he really wanted in the end. At least now she’ll know hes smiling, even if it is from afar.

DreamerNovember 20, 2013, 10:02 PM EST.

Comment ID #266938

Though looks like Mike just did it anyway.. way to make her sacrifice be in vain, Mike!

Edit: I know there’s way more to it then that >.>

DreamerNovember 20, 2013, 10:04 PM EST.

Comment ID #266939

Mike could get so much tang if he wanted too.

Also this has to be one of the longest comment sections on this site.

(dat hug thou)

Doctor horseNovember 20, 2013, 10:08 PM EST.

Comment ID #266940

I understand why mike is so upset I’ve acted out the same way, but you know what? It’s because I’m a stupid teenager. That’s why I love this comic so much, it mirrors everything so perfectly it’s almost scary. I also see how mike is being REDICULOUS. And I’m sure he will see it soon enough. Lucy tried to change and he wouldn’t except that. And that’s just not right. Everyone deserves a second chance infinite times

RinNovember 20, 2013, 10:13 PM EST.

Comment ID #266941

Daisy!

SeasonPrecureNovember 20, 2013, 10:19 PM EST.

Comment ID #266942

@Dreamer I’m pretty sure Lucy leaving was a thing her family forced on her. Back in 10 Seconds to Midnight, I’m pretty sure that’s what they were talking about. Having that kind of change forced on her might have played a role in her suicide attempt. Honestly, I’ve just stopped trying to count the number of factors that might have caused it.
Endless causes and endless effects and sacred sin the world is complicated. So props to Taeshi for writing a world that’s about as complex as ours. Takes a damn good writer to pull that off.

titansCryptNovember 20, 2013, 10:25 PM EST.

Comment ID #266943

Oh boy. Everything’s coming out.

IT’S DRIPPIN’ WITH DRAMA

Just-A-LurkerNovember 20, 2013, 10:30 PM EST.

Comment ID #266944

Yeah Mike and Daisy!

Gate-senpaiNovember 20, 2013, 10:30 PM EST.

Comment ID #266945

Isn’t it funny how commenters say “people” when they are really referring to one person? It throws me off. If you disagree with someone, use their name: you are speaking to them, right?

LordofryeNovember 20, 2013, 10:33 PM EST.

Comment ID #266946

This is the best birthday ever!

Chase the AceNovember 20, 2013, 10:40 PM EST.

Comment ID #266947

I’m seriously surprised that in a string of 300+ comments there aren’t more haters trying to start an argument about how wrong Mike is to feel that way. Maybe pouring his soul out after years of being the butt of every joke and getting the blame for every mishap has gotten a few people onto his side?
NAAAAAHH.
I’m glad this is out in the open now. He’s been sitting on it for a long time and I can’t wait to see what the clique does now that their angsty Milhouse finally gets to talk about his feeeeeeliiings~

Comment ID #266949

It sucks all the grief and physical abuse mike had to endure it really made him bitter towards lucy and you can’t him who wouldn’t be mad at someone who vents all their frustration on to them. His friends never really paid attention to when lucy was hurting him but when he rejected her and soon put all his cards on the table finally saying how he felt he became the bad guy. And lucy in that instance her world shook apart no longer having mike there to put up with her she fell apart. Which shows how much she does need mike and at the same time showing how she’s relied on him too much making her unable to basically handle herself without him. Mike’s not a bad guy despite what he said he really does care about lucy but with all that she’s done he’d rather keep her at an arms distance. He could have handled it better, he should have handled it better but he told her what needed she hear she hurt him too many times, couldn’t handle it anymore, and he hated her for it (he doesn’t really hate her he was just really angry). As for his friend they did a serious no-no they chose a side adding fuel to the flame instead of trying to help that both them figure out what’s happening between them they labeled mike and just watched as it all played out then fall apart. And at the end lucy couldn’t handle it. To put in into perspective it’s like when you plant a garden you prepare you use weed guard, grub killer, plant food, and top soil. If you do it right you plants grow big, green, and healthy but you skip steps and things can go wrong. Which happened here but their relationship was never never really healthy one lucy did (violence/abuse/etc.) and mike let it happen (took it/said nothing/ etc.) both are at fault it’s not solely mike’s.

soupNovember 20, 2013, 10:52 PM EST.

Comment ID #266950

@buchanen_neket
I think you’re losing the point here. This is not a competition, it’s not about who was braver. I know he saved her at the end, I was just trying to point out how Lucy actually acted on his favor many times and he didn’t even count them at all. She wasn’t a jerk towards him all the time and in fact she showed to him SEVERAL TIMES how much she really cared for him, like in those examples.

JerkfaceNovember 20, 2013, 10:54 PM EST.

Comment ID #266951

@Fox

So basically that whole mess was the fault of a drunken Mike and Lucy’s plan was the only thing that anyone had tried to do with even a bit of forethought?

OmegaBNovember 20, 2013, 10:55 PM EST.

Comment ID #266952

Mike did not save Lucy in the end, she saved him. he got caught while beating on the thug and she helped him and then Mike and Lucy beat the thug together.

FoxNovember 20, 2013, 10:58 PM EST.

Comment ID #266953

@OmegaB
Basically. Look at the pages, I posted the links for a reason. Look at what Mike did and look at what Lucy did, which o them looks like they were actually thinking?

FoxNovember 20, 2013, 11:00 PM EST.

Comment ID #266954

Right, so, I’ve been off and on around here since the forum went down, as often as not because it was no longer as convenient to chat with friends about what happened in the comic, or about inconsequential stuff. But I have kept myself fairly up-to-date, and occasionally even glanced through the comments. Truth be told, I only read three of the full comments, and glanced at about a half-dozen others, but the overriding opinion I’m getting is that Mike’s the ******* and that’s all there is to it.

Now, did Mike act like a douche when he ruined Lucy’s self-confidence, which was always rather shaky at best? Hell yes. He was the biggest jerk in the world right at that instant, and he was doing it at least partially with the intention of harming her emotionally. What I see, quite often, is people saying it’s Mike’s fault all of this is going on, and that Lucy’s the innocent bystander. And just as often, I see people saying “I could take Lucy treating me that way, he’s just being a *****.” That shows a definite lack of understanding of a basic human principle: Everyone’s different. Everyone handles things differently, such as Lucy’s light-hearted-but-still-abusive treatment to Mike, and Mike’s vocal devotion to Sandy. Same emotions being felt, I believe, but vastly different expressions. So while many people, myself included, wouldn’t have been overly bothered by Lucy’s expression of affection, many others would have taken it exactly the way he did.

I’ve always been vocal about the ‘blame game’ being played by the shippers, and my stance that everyone shares the blame. Lucy’s expression of her affection was cute to some of us, but it wasn’t healthy, especially in that she rarely gave him any solid proof that she liked him. That sort of mental stress builds up, and can turn to acid pretty quickly. Paulo’s treatment of Mike is just mean, and I’m not really sure if he intends to be mean or if, like Lucy, that’s how he shows his affection. The rest of the gang, excluding Daisy and Tess, are guilty of adding to the stress by consistently taking Lucy’s side, even in situations in which she’s at fault (I’ll look up examples in my free time.) Only Daisy and Tess showed him any clear support of the sort one should expect from friends, and in a situation like that, it can seem like a mere drop in the bucket to what one needs.

With my position on the story once again firmly voiced, on to other matters! @thepersonI’mreferencing I noticed whilst I was browsing, someone, I forget their name, said that what they liked about the story was how well it mirrored real life, how it is very much a story of every teenager I’ve ever met. I have to agree, that is among the top reasons I like this webcomic, and why, when I actually have money to spare, I’m supporting it by purchasing the hard-copies. My bookshelf will love me as it finally succumbs to age and weight.

As for the comic itself, allow me please to give a brief review. To skip, look for the dot-dash line. I’ll be brief.

So far, the story has consistently drawn me in, though that’s hardly a surprise at this point. I’ve enjoyed the build-up to this chapter right here, the growing frustrations and tension, even as I’ve mourned for the characters themselves and wondered if things would get better for them. Once again, this comic has proven its capacity to not pull me in, but encase my body in concrete and drop me to the deepest depths. With cannonballs attached for good measure. To be honest, I can’t think of what it might be missing, which is the best praise I can possibly give. There’s certainly something missing, because no story is perfect, but whatever it is, I don’t notice its absence.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

There. I’m not exactly columnist material anymore, but I’ve said everything I could possibly say regarding the story itself a long time ago, and I hope I haven’t repeated myself. On to ‘Comment on character actions’ time.

It’s about bloody time you came out and told everyone, Mike! I was beginning to wonder if you’d just keep it bottled up until you exploded from the pressure and sent Mike-bits everywhere. Hmm… Exploding Mike, then mad-with-loss Sandy stitches him back together Frankenstein-style and reanimates him? Fanfic idea (Damn you Frankenstein, I should never have re-read you!)

And finally, but never least… Mein friends! I miss you guys ;-; We must communicate again!

Lost_CookieNovember 20, 2013, 11:02 PM EST.

Comment ID #266955

This page makes me so happy.

StarmuttaniNovember 20, 2013, 11:24 PM EST.

Comment ID #266956

Man through this entire comment thread i’ve just been following @buchanen_neket responses to people. Good stuff really. Also it seems a lot of your targets haven’t read the previous comments .

JuerujinNovember 20, 2013, 11:37 PM EST.

Comment ID #266957

You just don’t see it, do you, Mike?

Reader-tanNovember 21, 2013, 12:08 AM EST.

Comment ID #266959

THEY ARE UNHAPPY (anthropomorphized animals, thus)HUMANS. Did any of you expect to like them all the time? They are very sad very angry and haven’t figured out how to interact healthily with themselves or others. They need help. Ideally, Lucy is getting some right now and Mike will get some now that he has said all this and Daisy will be there to stand up for him. Neither Lucy nor Mike did everything right, in fact, they each probably did tons of horrible things, certainly to each other, as we’ve seen.

No situation that either has been in really excuses the way they’ve treated others, it just might explain some of it.

I have a general distaste for Mike, but that’s on me, and not about how he treated Lucy, or about how he acts the rest of the time. Sandy is a sweetheart who just wants him to be happy. I hate Daisy for her well-meaning but often injurious actions. She definitely cares about everyone in the group, but she can’t just be well-meaning and righteous, she has to also be aware. Sometimes she seems so goddamn unaware/oblivious to every kind of social cue. Hopefully this will be a moment where she will get to unpack her awareness for us, and it isn’t just “Daisy always picks Mike first, Daisy loves Mike…********.” I hope it turns into some real “Daisy has seen the **** going down and what Mike did to Lucy was horrible and the way Lucy treated Mike was horrible, and it’s all ****ed up, and real friends try to understand and support each other, BUT ALSO DON’T TAKE ENDLESS **** FROM EACH OTHER. ” I hope Daisy proves to be more than she seems so often. Otherwise,

pattysmithNovember 21, 2013, 12:20 AM EST.

Comment ID #266960

JUST SO WE’RE CLEAR: I don’t mean to be victim-blaming Daisy at all with regard to the dude who reportedly(I don’t remember exactly) assaulted/stalked her. I mostly mean her interactions within the friend group. I really have to make sure that’s clear.

pattysmithNovember 21, 2013, 12:24 AM EST.

Comment ID #266961

@Juerujin

I don’t know, whenever I read the responses the arguments aren’t always posed in a logical way. I know everyone has a bias one way or another, but I feel like @buchanen_neket tries the hardest to point out Mike’s side, and how he was justified in his actions, but it seems he has to struggle hard to do so. Even today with the “Lucy was Brave, but Mike was COURAGEOUS”

He does have to majorly downplay Lucy’s positive influences in all of these arguments to have ground to stand on to even make sense.

Which really lends to the fact that Mike really hasn’t been justified in any of his actions as of late. We all know Lucy was in the wrong first, but she did change her behavior. Maybe it was too late for Mike, but it speaks volumes to his character that he picked on her every time he saw her after her confession, then sought her out for total emotional explosion after she stopped talking to him.

I think everyone agrees that Lucy was VERY wrong if we are going to assume all hits are bad in the comic. But she stopped acting this way for a long time before Mike blew up. It almost makes it seem like he got angry that she changed her behavior for him. Like he couldn’t take the fact that his influence on her did gradually alter her actions to the point where people really started to like her. So he tears her down, knowing he was the only one who could crush her new-found ability to try rely more on others.

As for Mike, his claim to have a life that is “SO HARD,” has no comic evidence to stand on. By taking this route in his drunken stupor, we can see that he really isn’t sorry, and deep down still thinks he did the right thing for him. He is upset because they didn’t agree, and that’s why he’s throwing another bitch-fit.

Lickit&stickitNovember 21, 2013, 12:40 AM EST.

Comment ID #266962

Ok I’m pretty lost right now. I’ve searched my memory, reread chapters, even scrutinized my thoughts based on the exact way things were worded, but I still can’t figure out why on earth Mike would be saying the things on this page. He can’t possibly expect his friends to always be there to take his side (as if they have to anyway?) especially if they don’t know everything that’s been going on. Up until now they had no reason to take anyone’s side because of their ignorance.
The only time I can think of Mike being “harassed” or “abused” by his friends because of something directly related to Lucy was when everyone found out he rejected Lucy in “Unrequited”. They couldn’t believe he would do that because everyone was still in the state of mind that Mike liked Lucy. Nobody knew what happened between them at Acapulco, or about Mike’s “I’m not your babysitter” speech (other than Paulo who denied it, thinking he still “wants to bone her” and just wanted an apology). But them taking Lucy’s side ended pretty quickly when he took out his picture of Sandy as proof of his “imaginary girlfriend”. In “Call Waiting”, nobody spat in Mike’s face for being happy to have a phone to text Sandy.
This is where I’m at a loss. If there’s something I missed, ANY reason that could possibly make what he’s saying here not the most self-righteous thing to come from his mouth, I’d really like to know; I really want a legitimate reason to sympathize with Mike, and I have read nothing in the comments or any pages to not convince me that this is just a result of his drunken state, or that he really just is that kind of *******. I was hoping that maybe we’re not meant to know yet and it will be explained in more detail in the next few pages, but seeing as Daisy immediately goes to comfort Mike, it looks like it’ll be more about them taking sides than offering a better explanation of his feelings. Until then, I’m sticking with the argument in my first comment. Unless I’m seriously just overthinking everything and he’s just spouting nonsense because he’s hella drunk, though he’s been pretty coherent for the most part so far, so that doesn’t seem too plausible.

TBlackfeetNovember 21, 2013, 12:47 AM EST.

Comment ID #266963

Man it’s going to be so sad and probably awkward When everyone goes to sing happy birthday to Rachael.
@ Lost_Cookie my friend! You should stop in the IRC sometime and chat with me.

Blue foxNovember 21, 2013, 12:48 AM EST.

Comment ID #266964

As for Daisy, I think the main reason she hated Lucy for a long time was because she was jealous that Lucy had Mike’s friendship and attention over her. Daisy essentially lost to both Sandy first, then Lucy in Mike’s order of girlfriend consideration. She was jealous, which is why she used to smack talk about awful she thought Lucy was.

I hope her hug doesn’t turn back into her undying admiration for Mike, and is actually just a comfort hug. I am nearly a 50/50 on whether or not Mike will go apeshit on her for the hug saying something like, “YOU DON’T COUNT AS MY FRIEND BECAUSE YOU JUST LIKE ME AND HOPE THAT I DITCH SANDY FOR YOU TOO.”

There is a good chance he turns this into, well Daisy, you don’t count because secretly you MUST still want me and you only want to be on my good side. (Because he believes all his friends are hell bent on destroying Mike+Sandy, which is why he had to make sure Lucy’s efforts to be nicer were ELIMINATED in case he changed his opinion of her character )

Lickit&stickitNovember 21, 2013, 12:55 AM EST.

Comment ID #266965

Wuh-oh, bad touch

Jacob_FapNovember 21, 2013, 12:59 AM EST.

Comment ID #266966

mike, you are a dumb butt. daisy has always liked you.

PhillipNovember 21, 2013, 1:01 AM EST.

Comment ID #266967

@TBlackfeet

Honestly I think its the liquor talking coupled with the fact that Lucy was just kinda forced on him for a while. He seems like the kinda person to just brood on something and then never express or open up to how he’s feeling until he explodes. Honestly I can understand why he feels that way to Sue and Paulo because Sue pushed the play on him, and Paulo because well Paulo is just not really a good friend to him. But I don’t understand the Daisy/Amaya hate Daisy crossed a line but she apologized and never tried that again and they got over it, wtf has Amaya done? I seriously think its the liquor, unless he’s still angry they tried to get him to patch stuff up?

Samm-yNovember 21, 2013, 1:06 AM EST.

Comment ID #266968

Replace daisy with paulo in that last panel with the same pose. Awwwwe yeah but in seriousness i totally agree with Lickit&stickit’s post above me.

CheeseCoatedChopperNovember 21, 2013, 1:07 AM EST.

Comment ID #266969

After looking back at confrontation… I’m seeing what my worry with this comic is. It always dealt with very serious issues, but in the end there was some hope. As readers get closer and closer to current day, there is less and less hope, just drama. I do hope something good happens, or at least characters begin to be redeemable again (many have spiraled into much darker, much less relate-able characters). I just hope for some semblance of happiness to come from this comic. It used to be very fun to read, almost uplifting. It is still extremely enjoyable to read, and don’t get me wrong, I think the writing and art has improved consistently, but the “fun-ness” has been lost in place of pure drama. I just hope they get out of this slump somehow.

HerumphNovember 21, 2013, 1:11 AM EST.

Comment ID #266970

Best birthday upload possible right more drama screwing up the group
Please just say you are wrong and find Lucy and have a happy day please for my birthday lol

Dawson15November 21, 2013, 1:13 AM EST.

Comment ID #266971

“Y’ think it’s been easy? For me ‘n my perfect little life?”

My rebuttal can be found on page 578 in BCB Volume 1. Perfect little life indeed.

Mike is lashing out on impulse now. I have to give him a pass due to the stress of his confession, his age, and his BAC right now. But if he can’t think of anything his friends have done for him, then that’s his own fault. (Hint: Paulo saved your life, you ungrateful ***.)

SolvekNovember 21, 2013, 1:17 AM EST.

Comment ID #266972

Good think McCain hasn’t been around. He would somehow turn all the heighten tensions towards him with a comment and ruin the mood.
McCain doesn’t even have an emoticon. *sniff* I miss dat man.

VanvoltraNovember 21, 2013, 1:17 AM EST.

Comment ID #266973

@Samm-y
I don’t know if I would say Sue pushed the play on him, only because he did want to be in it… and Paulo is just Paulo and his actions, while inappropriate, are understandable. The way he’s just running off in the 3rd to last panel just makes him sound like a kid with a problem that he doesn’t feel like dealing with, so he runs away. That’s not only immature, but especially like you said how he just lets it all bottle up until it all explodes out later. A lot of characters have done plenty of growing up and I think now it’s his turn.

TBlackfeetNovember 21, 2013, 1:22 AM EST.

Comment ID #266974

@Lickit&stickit

XD lmao dude you’re no better.

They are Teenagers man ironing their clothes may seem like they’ve got life so hard to them and the kid is drunk! How can you know if he was honestly sorry? We saw him break down, we’ve seen him deal with the guilt I mean what constitutes a sorry? Should he off himself in front of her family with an apology note stuck to himself? I think he just wanted someone to take his side or ask him “whoah man why did you do that?” though how could he expect that from Paulo? They imho aren’t really friends Paulo has always kinda secretly hated him and been jealous he only hung around for Lucy. I think you’re right about Daisy/Lucy but at least Daisy seemed to want to be there for Lucy a bit more then Paulo/Mike. And if Mike did that man I just hope he doesn’t that would be going way too far.

And I think the main reason he exploded aside from how Lucy treated him, was because he couldn’t deal with his feelings, he felt that Lucy was putting up a front, or he is just that unbalanced.

@TBlackfeet

I say she did only because she didn’t let him or Lucy know she was trying to set them back up. (ie that was the only reason she did it without considering either of their feelings before hand, and Lucy didn’t even want to do it). If he knew he had to be in it with Lucy from the get go I doubt he would have done it. And yeah Mike seriously needs to grow, he needs to learn how to deal with problems, how to express himself and have balanced relationships. He’s going to have a hard time going through life with that kinda warped way of dealing with things.

Samm-yNovember 21, 2013, 1:27 AM EST.

Comment ID #266976

@Samm-y

When I see him actually APOLOGIZE SINCERELY instead of negating all responsibility as, “WHY DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT I HAD NO OTHER CHOICE THAN TO PICK ON THE DEPRESSED GIRL WHO WORSHIPS ME?”

He doesn’t need injury, he just needs to be sincerely sorry and own up that it was his words that hit the final nail for Lucy. His apology to her was literally, “I suppose I was out of line and I wanna start over, but not really because this doesn’t mean everything with us actually changes and starts over.”

Even now, here is is telling his friends that it was his blow up that did it, and he’s playing the victim card like he was justified and Lucy deserved it. And he’s trying to guilt trip his friends into seeing that they aren’t good friends unless they support his **** decision. He hasn’t changed. He isn’t taking responsibility. He just was tired of the guilt as everyone told him what a great friend he was to Lucy when he knew it was a lie. I believe the truth comes out when you are under the influence because I’ve heard a laundry load of confessions from people in that state.

The difference between Mike and Lucy is she did change. She did take responsibility and effectively removed herself from his life to avoid being a bother. I’d say this suicide attempt was an even more extreme version of her need to eradicate herself from his life.

Lickit&stickitNovember 21, 2013, 2:00 AM EST.

Comment ID #266977

People are getting all fussed up again I guess. Hmmmmm
I better come up with another song

Comment ID #266978

Sorry Mike, you don’t get any pity from me, you easily could’ve handled your situation better, there is no way to defend how you snapped at Lucy, people are in the right to be mad at you, you essentially spoke for them and told them that none of them even cared for Lucy. Sorry Bud.

Neither definition requires a person not to sense fear and I would not put neither of these two qualities before the other.

I think Lucy had better judgement of the whole situation being sober and Mike’s courage might have been a bit more of a ‘liquid’ type

Admitting you were scared afterwards doesn’t mean you lack courage - as Fox correctly noticed, this is often the case with soldiers. There are a lot of courageous war veterans out there who relive their fears on a daily basis, suffering from PTSD.

Also, Lucy’s letting her emotions surface in the end was probably for the best - if she had internalized them, she could’ve easily developed another phobia, this time related to physical contact and that would mess her life up a good deal more.

As to being chewed up, it is different for different people. It worked for you, but would not neccessarily work for another so let’s not prescribe out of our own biographies.

Both Mike and Lucy are pretty messed up, made many bad choices and should reflect upon their actions. Be more open to each other, family, friends. Maybe get some professional help… That’s what Abbie did and I respect him grately for it.

Can’t wait for today’s comic

OltarNovember 21, 2013, 4:07 AM EST.

Comment ID #266980

U know maybe if mike would take responsibility for what he did yeah lucy was harsh but she never TRIED to hurt him especially not the way he hurt her and she even tried to change her ways for him now hes being a baby hes mad because he got caught I mean hes given his friends no reason to treat him like a friend anymore because of how rude and hateful hes been he singled her out and handled the situation horribly they tried to help him and he refused to swallow his pride and actually listen now one of their friends is gone I think he needs to come to terms with what he did and then apologize to his friends for what hes not only done to her but what hes done to them after he does that im sure they will forgive him…well maybe not paulo…but yea I mean at least lucy realized how she treated him and tried to change but no one is completely right everyone did something wrong.

kittykitty101November 21, 2013, 5:13 AM EST.

Comment ID #266981

@Everybody saying Mike used his friends as “shields” - no, even back in December he knew they weren’t being true friends to him. The only reason he said it the way he did was to hurt Lucy by using her own insecurities against her. He’s been the punching bag for a long freaking time, and he’s known it for a long freaking time. But he keeps getting pulled back in for one reason or another. They refuse to accept his feelings for Sandy, they constantly try to force him to be in love with Lucy even when he told them blatantly he doesn’t want to be with her, they constantly take her side with everything, and he’s completely right.

AGAIN, this does not justify his actions, but I feel most of the commentors aren’t actually looking at things from his perspective. As one of the earlier posters said, he was made to suck it all up because he’s a guy and “that’s what guys do”. Sexual stereotypes go both ways, and yes, men can be hurt emotionally as badly as women. We’re all people. For all you “hardasses” calling him a ***** for being honest with his feelings, you guys have obviously never been in a situation like his.

Also, who the hell keeps saying all the events have been biased by Mike? Go back and re-read the comic. It’s not narrated by Mike, we’re seeing events as they really are. Go back and look at how they’ve treated him for the past couple of years. Most of them have been really, really ****** friends, and that’s not just Mike’s opinion.

daft_inquisitorNovember 21, 2013, 5:15 AM EST.

Comment ID #266982

Daisy you are so making this worse. STOP

#inlcudeNovember 21, 2013, 5:53 AM EST.

Comment ID #266983

Aaaw poor Mike. You know, he’s totally right. It’s not like she can understand Lucy because well… he’s not Lucy. He doesn’t know what’s going in her mind. So yeah, it’s totally understandable Mike that you’re like that. You see, your “friends” see that you’re already okay with the situation and totally content with it (Even if you’re REALLY NOT) so they see the moody bipolar actions of Lucy. Geez… why don’t you just accept that you were a bit rash for your actions! If Lucy’s actions (Her text to Sandy and the essay and all the other stuff) were really sincere, he should accept that she was sorry for it. I meant, it takes a lot of pride and courage for admitting your mistakes!!

On the side note, I imagine Abbey squirming in the next page. I wonder though if they’re all sobered up by Mike’s revelation…

Anonymousx101November 21, 2013, 5:58 AM EST.

Comment ID #266984

Let’s waiting Abbey!~~

HongKatNovember 21, 2013, 6:25 AM EST.

Comment ID #266985

I wonder if Mike’ll ever tell Sandy. Ah well… Mike do please realize that those friends of yours weren’t encouraging Paulo. They were probably thinking, “That was extreme, but you have a point. But still it was extreme. We didn’t know Lucy was greatly depressed, you did.” Something along those lines. BUT REMEMBER MIKE!! Those people are your friends! They’re just silent because they’re not supposed to take sides between you and Lucy. Yah. And you should try to understand Paulo too. He just realized he loved Lucy and then ta-dah!! *Rainbow sign* Surprise!! Think about it Mike! If Sandy was driven to something horrible, wouldn’t you practically kill the person? Boo-hoo more dramaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~!! YOU GO GUUUUUUUUuuuuuyys…. okay that was lame. Taeeshiiii~!! LEMME SEE ABBEY’S FACE!!

Anonymousx101November 21, 2013, 6:54 AM EST.

Comment ID #266986

@sigh I agree completely.

If Mike were the female and Lucy were the male, the reactions would be so different it’d be an entirely new story. Because, you know, girls apparently have more of a right to treat a guy like **** since childhood, then regret it immensely and become even more of a mental case than they were originally after thinking every little piece of torture they used on the guy is okay just because they apologized.

****ing holy ****, people, think for a ****ing second.

Flame_LoneWolfNovember 21, 2013, 7:08 AM EST.

Comment ID #266987

Waaaaah Daisy…!
Abbey, you understand all the feelings she’s dealt with/has been dealing with/the history of all of their friendship, right? Oh dear, please don’t let things get as bad as they might…!

+bird+November 21, 2013, 7:54 AM EST.

Comment ID #266989

paulo is biggest ##### ever,,,mike takes a punch like a champ… not even phase…paulo is the biggest cowardly tool ever. Put his butt on the chopping block and expose him as the fraud he is.

wonkybirdNovember 21, 2013, 8:57 AM EST.

Comment ID #266990

um wait, what happened to, “they’ll all follow me.” as opposed to this?
He tells Lucy the exact opposite of what he’s telling them here. Mike, how about some consistency?

From lashing out at Lucy to lashing out at them. It’s time that Mike find some one neutral to talk it out with and figure out his own emotions before he winds up with anger issues. Well, worse ones.

SignatureNovember 21, 2013, 9:00 AM EST.

Comment ID #266992

For all the “haters” for either Lucy and Mike (sorry it’s so long – I’ve wanted to comment before but never have):

The relationship between Mike and Lucy has been a ever-changing one and has lasted at least a decade. People change and grow often dramatically between their childhood years and their teen years. I wonder how many people remember how they handled matters of the heart when they were children, or tweens or teens? Children feel strongly but are far more open than when they get older. It’s the first few “hurts” that shape a child – this is mostly because young children have the inability to reason so they only know how something feels, not how they should rationally handle it. Then as a tween you start to have hormones and after your relationships are shaped as children it’s more difficult learning to be open and accepting. But they also learn to reason and try to be logical, but being young and without experience they are lost without guidance. Without asking for help its difficult to go about things in a rational manner. Then as a teen often you are guided by your hormones. After learning you should be rational your hormones will override that part in your brain and you will react strongly in different directions because you don’t know how to handle emotions + reason + hormones.

Lucy has two older brothers and while it hasn’t been delved into, I imagine growing up – especially considering how she was never accepted in either group (boys or girls) – she would spend a lot of time with her brothers and because of that she became a very physical person. She would have something to prove to them that she can stand up for herself rather than rely on them to be the “muscle” if things ever got tough for her. Just like little boys show their affection with a punch or a shove, so would Lucy. Because rather than learning to be tender and passive she learned to put her strongest foot forward no matter what the situation. Being avoided by both the boys and girls at school would make her build a wall up inside to protect from feeling the pain of rejection that she was finding everywhere.

So you can imagine how difficult it would be for her to realize she has these feelings for someone that aren’t hurt, rejection or anger. Meeting Mike at such a young age and finally feeling acceptance in one person would be a very potent thing for a child. Mike is a tender person and because he is a boy she would feel more comfortable forming a connection with him because she spent her time with her brothers anyway. So to find that feeling of acceptance and then to have it taken away when he found someone else it would be earth shattering – especially for someone so young. To feel rejected and to feel as though she was no longer good enough obviously broke her heart. All of a sudden after finding someone who cared for her as she was he found someone who he felt something for; she felt abandoned.

Now I don’t quite know the situation at home for her but it seems to me that the father is either away a lot or they are divorced. So either way she doesn’t spend much time with her father and may feel abandoned by him and therefore would fear abandonment by anyone else important in her life. So Mike tossing her aside would snap what little confidence she had in the first place.

Once Mike loses Sandy he leans on Lucy and because she is desperate for his attention (since no one else paid her any) she took him back and picked up the pieces. But to be abandoned and to feel as though she wasn’t good enough would cause psychological issues for several years to come. So even if she was bad before she would be a lot worse afterward. She is obviously confused and overwhelmed to have feelings for Mike and worries that he would abandon her again. And what do people do when they are afraid they are going to lose something? They hold on for dear life. Rather than come to terms with her feelings and the fear of abandonment she held on so tight and was blinded to anyone else who may have tried to come into her life. But because he had hurt her in the past she tried to be as cold as she could so that he couldn’t get close and break her heart again. Even if he showed interest she obviously couldn’t get past his abandonment and her own self-doubt.

Then it came to when he told her he wasn’t going to take care of her anymore and when he confessed to being with Sandy. As much as she cared for Mike she obviously felt as though she lost him all over again. After a conversation with someone a bit older, she started to really see she was losing him and needed to make a leap to keep him. Confessing her love was HUGE and Mike just tossed her aside again. When her female friends reached out to her she started to realize that she did have a group outside of Mike. She started to put herself out there and despite a bad judgment call with Paulo she was making strides to independence – which Mike promptly squashed by belittling her moving on to someone else (any guy). Sure she was probably trying to replace Mike and some decisions weren’t great ones but having him come down on her to her and her friends would make it even more difficult for her to know or understand how to effectively move on from him.

WJMNovember 21, 2013, 10:20 AM EST.

Comment ID #266993

Now Mike. Mike Mike Mike… A lot of people comment on how it would be interesting to see their gender roles reversed when they actually kind of already are. Lucy fits the male archetype a lot more than Mike where as Mike has far more female attributes. Mike grew up in a matriarchal family with a younger sister so he was brought up with a far more emotional oriented upbringing. Rather than having to put up a strong front he was taught to be more open and tender. This would be the reason Mike found it in himself to reach out to Lucy and to be far more accepting of how she truly is. And being a child at the time he would have learned that girls acted the way Lucy and his little sister do – facing the world with a closed fist rather than an open hand.

Then he meets Sandy and finds out what other girls are like. Sandy is tender and embodies the princess or damsel in distress. She comes to Mike needing help with school work she is hopeless at and is very open and affectionate – something Mike hadn’t experienced before. While Lucy is a rose with thorns. Sandy is a lily that is soft and open. Both are beautiful to him but in different ways. I know Mike would have realized he was pushing Lucy away at some point but you can’t really blame him because he was so young.

It was a constant competition between Mike and Lucy because she needed to prove herself and he needed to do the same because she was always challenging him at all the things he prided himself at being good at. Especially as a boy it’s as if you’re always competing and comparing who’s is bigger and better. It’s hardwired into your system. To constantly have a girl challenge you and often best you would be hard for a young boy to handle. Mike once said he needed to be confident around Lucy – and that’s because he often stayed passive when she was such a force to be reckoned with.
But as they got older it was obviously harder and harder for him feeling like he was being bested by a girl.

When Sandy left Mike was obviously broken hearted. Someone he felt he had a connection with and someone he felt equal to was no longer going to be in his life. The prospect of losing the tenderness for Lucy’s hard way would be difficult. But she was there for him and often that’s all someone needs is a hand to hold especially as a child. So Lucy’s was the hand he held for comfort and familiarity.

The “abusive” thing comes up a lot because people think Lucy was very physically abusive but I won’t how people would feel about if Lucy were a guy and they were rough-housing? Guys do it all the time with their close friends and it’s all in good fun. Lucy had to be better and stronger to prove she wasn’t weak so perhaps her methods were excessive at times but if you grow up that way with two brothers how should you expect her to act with her friends? Mike never said it wasn’t “ok” for her to be how she was until it was too late. He pushed just as hard and fought back just as strongly – just verbally. This was the relationship and the dynamic they had created between themselves and until Sandy told him that it wasn’t ok Mike didn’t think any differently.

Now I like Sandy just fine. And I appreciate the maturity it took to tell Mike he shouldn’t allow Lucy to treat him the way she did. But Mike should have explained to her how their friendship was. I know he defended Lucy but without telling Sandy how they have always been Sandy wouldn’t know any better and would see Lucy as a bully. Mike would have felt he had something to prove to Sandy and taken her input as an epiphany but rather than talking to Lucy and telling her that what they had been doing was no longer ok he just let resentment build up until he blew up and told her he hated her – which I honestly don’t think he does.

WJMNovember 21, 2013, 10:22 AM EST.

Comment ID #266994

This strip shows just how segregated Mike has felt. He feels like the bad guy because everything is second hand information to their friends and especially since Lucy has disappeared of course the focus for them will be on her because Mike is still there and saying he’s happy with Sandy. He would feel like talking to their friends would be silly because the focus is on Lucy and why would they want to hear his sob story about feeling pushed aside.

The main problem is that roles are reversing. While Mike was always passive and Lucy aggressive, Mike feels he has something to prove and just shoves it down Lucy’s throat because that’s how a man would do it – or so he probably thinks. He wants to be the strong one. He wants Lucy to know he wears the pants. Again – the young aren’t so good with rationality.

Mike is obviously conflicted because he let Sandy dictate how his relationship with Lucy should be. It’s not her fault it’s his own for not setting boundaries over the fighting before. And after everything boiled over he is so use to Lucy always being there it would be hard for him to see her move on to someone else. She has always hung on to him – why should she be that way with anyone else? He may not feel for her that way anymore (though I think he really does) he cares in some way but also can’t come to terms with the fact that he can’t have his cake and eat it too. Be with Sandy and not have feelings for Lucy even if she moves on.

They are both “human” and are reacting the way anyone of their age would. So even though Lucy may come off as a cold hearted bitch – she has been deeply hurt and the pain and fear of abandonment has fuelled her reactions and her demeanor for most of her life. And even though Mike is normally the kind, calm and patient one he is confused and angry and feels like everyone is against him because everyone has lost Lucy – he feels forgotten: abandoned. Maybe now they will each understand what the other one feels.

So even if Mike is coming across as a huge D*** right now – don’t hate on him because he’s coping and trying to come to terms with his feelings (whatever they may be). And don’t hate on Lucy because you think she is an abusive bitch because she’s really just handling things the only way she knows how. We all did stupid stuff when we were young and broken-hearted. Cut them both some slack.

WJMNovember 21, 2013, 10:22 AM EST.

Comment ID #266995

So pretty I LOVE all the emotions

ItiNovember 21, 2013, 10:31 AM EST.

Comment ID #266996

is it weird that alot of them are wearing the same color blue?

CaitlinNovember 21, 2013, 11:03 AM EST.

Comment ID #266997

Tbh I can’t remember Mike telling anyone about his thoughts and feelings – at least not thoroughly. I’m not sure if Lucy did, either. Everyone has just been going off of what they’ve seen. I just skimmed through Unrequited and Mike doesn’t want to talk to anyone about anything that’s going on, especially because “[they] make a big deal out of everything” – yet here Mike is, freaking out over his friends “not acting like friends.”
What did he expect? He didn’t let them in, really, and neither did Lucy, so what are they supposed to do? Guess? Every time they do that, Lucy and Mike both got frustrated. Also for Mike to include Daisy in that accusation is ridiculous. She’s always been there for him and he’s treated her like nothing special.
Mike seems to take a lot of things for granted because he’s too focused on his fairy-tale-love Sandy (I say that because their relationship is based around childhood experiences and daydreams) and Lucy making him the bad guy/getting her out of his life (which is also ridiculous because he KNOWS that she loved him and that he was the first friend she had, and in an early chapter he claimed that he understood her harsh behavior).
Now he’s just using manipulative tactics to win their sympathies (which Lucy has used as well) like he’s done for a long, long time. He’s always acted nicely though he’s wanted to be left alone or to be rid of Lucy. He constantly plays the victim (though he is probably to0 ignorant to understand that he’s done wrong too). As everyone else as been saying, he’s used explosive anger and verbal abuse to gain dominance (specifically over Lucy). He’s denied any fault. He’s minimized and justified his abusive actions towards everyone. Now he’s guilt tripping everyone else.
I’m not trying to come off as a Mike hater, just pointing things out. Lucy is incredibly immature, manipulative, abusive, and ignorant as well, though at least she realized that she was being a douche and tried to fix things.
Mike has points here; it seems like the others did pay more attention to Lucy, though that could be because she was more active and vocal. He has also been walked all over by a handful of them as well.
Everyone has done wrongly, they are all dumb teenagers (the dumbness comes with the age, calm down), and this is a comic. Peace out.

DeringadingNovember 21, 2013, 11:06 AM EST.

Comment ID #266998

It must be because I relate more to Lucy but I just don’t feel bad for mike. I don’t hate him or anything I just can’t seem to feel sorry for him. Man if only he told Lucy to stop being a bitch instead of saying something he didn’t mean to say. Emotions **** me off. They make me feel these things about stuff and people.

Blue foxNovember 21, 2013, 11:12 AM EST.

Comment ID #266999

Oh my God, Daisy hug!!!

Mikika HatariNovember 21, 2013, 11:34 AM EST.

Comment ID #267000

Okay, this is Mike being a butthurt, self-centered ***. As any teenager who doesn´t get a clue about life. But that´s what he is, and the way he handled it (December), while bad and worse, was justified from his point of view. He exploded because he didn´t know better how to cope with his feelings about Lucy, all the more when he realized over phone with Sandy, that being berated in the emotional rollercoaster that was, and i think still is, the relationship he sustained with Lucy, was not good for him, neither it was for Lucy.
He didn´t cope with it like an adult (or what we expect an adult to be, mature), and thus exploded. The realization of having a more normal relationship (well, different) with Sandy, made him reject Lucy, even her attempts (too late, I think) to ammend these wrongdoings. These attempts did rubbed him off as half-assed and annoying, he didn´t want to do anything with Lucy (he distanced a lot from her).
In the process, he learned that standing on his own feet, and never accepting any demeaning behavior against yourself, takes a bit of guts and realization (<—Sandy helped). He did act on it in a bad way, mixing in the spent up frustation. Had he really known the reality behind Lucy´s mind he wouldn´t have acted so brashly, and yet cut off cleanly those matters. But alas, he is a teenager, a hormonal bomb . What do, can do. Not that a lot of adults could have handled it better, though it´s no excuse for him.
By the way, the gang didn´t have a clue of what was going on… And neither did understand fully either side.

P.D. Props to Daisy, I think. She´s quite emotional here, but perhaps rightly so. Shows that she cares. For both. And now you, Mike, get the clue.

WhinnieNovember 21, 2013, 11:48 AM EST.

Comment ID #267001

Perhaps if Mike actually, I dunno, spoke up more he would never be in this situation.

I know everyone is gonna think I hate Mike because of the whole “HES A GUY AND LUCY’S A GIRL SO WHAT HE SAID WAS SO WORSE THEN WHAT SHE DID BLUH BLUH”

No, if the genders were reversed I would be saying the exact same thing. Lucy did hit him, she did punch him and stuff and I’m not going to deny that was absolutely bad for her to do.

However she hit Mike all the time as she was younger, and she was never really told by Mike himself that this was seriously horrible for him, so she kept doing it.

Lucy was violent had a short temper and wasn’t the nicest person around but, Mike never corrected her, never even attempted to put a sincere “WHY YOU SHOULD STOP” talk with her. If he just sat down and talked to her about it im sure she would have stopped.

Instead he went the route of alienating her, threatening to have her friends ABANDON her, which caused her to go into a spiraling depression (and a possible suicide attempt? thats what it looks like).

Paulo and Mike were hardly friends to begin with anyway. Frienemies would be the more accurate term. And really he was the one who did most of the negative things to him in the group besides Lucy.

So themm not acting like true friends is hardly any justification for what he did to lucy! BUT DONT ANY OF YOU THINK THAT MEANS I APPROVE OF WHAT LUCY DID EITHER>

Mr. MorningstarNovember 21, 2013, 12:13 PM EST.

Comment ID #267085

@WJM
That was the most insight, thorough and unbiased thing I’ve ever read here, and I really want to thank you for taking the time to write it.

TBlackfeetNovember 21, 2013, 1:26 PM EST.

Comment ID #267255

Gee, Mike, I wonder why…

Oh dear God, I’m talking to fictional characters.

Mayor IncognitoNovember 21, 2013, 6:31 PM EST.

Comment ID #267343

@WJM thank youuu I keep trying to say that but I can’t communicate very well X’D

They’re both at fault but they’re both just normal kids. They aren’t nearly as exposed to and knowledgable of the world as we commenters are, with a lot of us being older than them (I’m 18, how about everyone else?)…. They’re just in the learning process. And the learning process can be quite ugly. But **** happens and they’ll grow because of it, they’ll become better people.

Can every hater of any character just take a moment to remember when you acted in a similar manner. We all have been in either of their shoes at some point, or we will. Because this is a comic, and we are the readers, we have the ability to see from the outside perspective…. But real people aren’t mind readers. Lucy and Mike had bad communication and this is the result….I’m sure we can all just sit back, accept that, and enjoy the comic without getting into such heated arguments? Why do people have to be so vicious? ;0; love and rainbows and thousands of wild ponies galloping through a field. You can understand anyone if you try hard enough.

SilveryogurtNovember 22, 2013, 5:03 AM EST.

Comment ID #267350

Mike is pretty much right about everything. Ok, he did go a too far as to make bitchface feel alone, but that’s pretty much her own fault as to how she push Mike away.

For people who can’t see that: You are all such davids

Otter guyNovember 22, 2013, 8:07 AM EST.

Comment ID #267356

@TBlackfeet
Thank you very much  I reread the series and skimmed comments and while I understand personal reactions and feelings it’s hard to see when someone gets a serious hate-on for a character after they do something foolish.

@Silveryyogurt
A great point about reader vs. character. People need to remember that while we see (almost) everything the characters – just as in real life – don’t have the privilege. If we could see everyone and everything – one would hope – we would make far more informed and mature decisions. But we never have all the information; only what we can infer from our senses – no one can see into another person’s thoughts and therefore learn their feelings and motivations.
Ps: I am 27 – and I honestly still don’t have everything figured out.

I’m sorry but I don’t recall who said it (and there are so many comments) – but I completely agree about friend’s being jerks 90% of the time (or so often I’ve seen with guys – since most of my friends are guys) but if you ever need them they step-up 200 percent. Playful jibes and even heated “discussions” (or flat out arguments) are a natural thing for anyone in ANY kind of relationship. It’s how people interact and feel about one another that helps shape friendships. For those who are in your life and do nothing but lean on you and use you and then never return the favour if it’s required: those aren’t true friends. But in this group they all fight and lean and jibe but every single one of them would be there for the other if it was required. Paulo may be a jerk often times but he was the first to really step up in the alley when they were attacked (after Sue tried to reason with the thugs). Daisy is often ignored or not noticed even though she pours her heart into every relationship, but when she needed help Jessica and Rachel were there and so too Mike and Abbey the most… The list of examples goes on and on. Mike just never asked for help. This was an explosive cry for help and he got quite a reaction.

And: @Otter guy
David is actually one of the most insightful characters in the story, despite his young age (Sue is another one too). He may be Paulo’s best friend and sits at the table but he is still quite the outsider. While people know he’s there it’s rare that anyone pays him direct attention before he speaks, this gives him a front row to much of what goes on. Yes he’s a bit of an airhead but often when he speaks it’s blunt, concise and insightful. A good example is in this chapter when he says the Lucy hated parties like this: while the others were having memories viewed through rose-coloured glasses - David didn’t (and not because he wasn’t drinking). There have been other instances of this that I can’t recall off the top of my head (but I could look them up). It’s often those you don’t notice that notice the most.

WJMNovember 22, 2013, 11:38 AM EST.

Comment ID #267456

When I read this page I imagine that Mike’s talking to the people from the comment section

SamboNovember 22, 2013, 2:06 PM EST.

Comment ID #267562

Do we ever find out what the heck HAPPENED to Lucy????????

PechymeisterNovember 22, 2013, 7:23 PM EST.

Comment ID #267567

I really love the comment on this
I don’t even know why but
It’s just
“daisy”

Comment ID #268409

Comment ID #285508

Ugh rereading this page upsets me so much, because Mike isn’t a bad guy but just like Lucy he just kept everything bottled up and he let it build up. Lucy had some serious problems. I mean serious emotional and mental problems. She has her faults and she is definitely at fault just as much as Mike but the thing with Mike is he LET’S himself be the bad guy, he doesn’t talk to anyone he doesn’t defend himself. He get’s defensive and says “What did I do?” or “This isn’t my fault” and just took it And part of me wants to say it has to do with Lucy constantly treating him like a dog but he’s been this way since they were kids BEFORE the whole gang warmed up to Lucy who until the very end had a wall built around her. He didn’t handle it well at all. He wasn’t wrong, Lucy needed to understand that she was wrong, but rather he wanted to admit it or not, They WERE friends. She forced herself on him when they were younger, but just like in December, he could have made it perfectly clear he didn’t want to be her friend. But no, they stayed friends and He knew her….He knew her like the back of his and he knew she had some serious issues and instead of talking this out with someone (preferably her family) he, along with her, just let it spiral out of control. And I DO NOT care how many of you love Mike he is ALSO WRONG. Yes Lucy was abusive, Yes, his friends weren’t really friends when he needed them. But Mike always played the ****ing part of nice guy and didn’t make it clear that they were wrong. Paulo is the only one I see being someone to actually treat him like a bad guy. But everyone else would have understand and tried to help if he just talked to them because THAT is what friends do. Lucy is wrong, she is wrong for how she treated him but she has an excuse, when you’re so used to people mistreating and abandoning you try to defend yourself against it. I think part of the reason she mistreated Mike so much was because she was terrified of Mike getting close and then turning out like everyone else. Even when he said he liked her it was probably too good to be true for her. Does that make her abuse right? No. But Mike doesn’t have an excuse, no one told him to be the Nice guy all the time. Maybe he has some self-esteem issues I will say that, there has to be a reason for him not defending himself besides them ganging up on him but I’m sick of people saying he was right for how he told Lucy off. Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can haunt and scar you for the rest of your life. He was wrong for how he treated her. All of her abuse doesn’t come any where near what he said because he was purposely trying to hurt her, purposely trying to tear her down for how she treated him even though he knows how fragile she was no matter how tough she acted. She needed to be told that how she was acting was wrong but not like that. I don’t hate Mike but I hate what he did. This might be a comic but this is some real life stuff happening. An eye for an eye makes the world go blind. Lucy was wrong especially when it came to Sandy, but Mike has no right feeling like he deserves his friends support for what he said. He NEEDS their support as friends period but not on this.

TealjoyAugust 21, 2014, 8:24 PM EST.

Comment ID #288557

You know what? I’m just going to say it. I see a lot of myself in Mike. I used to let people walk all over me and if I hadn’t of wised up and ended things with them then and there, I KNOW I would have been used for the rest of my life. This page brings back a lot of memories and I can appreciate how hard it must have been for him to say the things that he did, under the influence or not. They need to realize that he’s a person and not a punching bag for them to hit whenever they feel like it (Which was Lucy’s biggest problem. Insecurities or not, there’s just some things that you don’t do). Keep on Mike, keep on.

SilverOctober 23, 2014, 1:32 AM EST.

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